Photo Credit: Melbourne Renegades
Warrnambool cricketer Mark Murphy is the 2022 Renegades Recruit.
Murphy, who captains Brierly Christ Church CC in the Warrnambool & District CA, has won the second edition of the men’s program.
Primarily a batter, he is a three-time winner of the Warrnambool competition’s player of the season award.
More than 2500 votes were received to determine the winner. Murphy won with 42 percent of the public vote, ahead of fellow ‘Final 3’ members Nathan Johnson (Druids CC) and Alistair McCann (North Geelong).
He will be joined by last year’s Recruit winner – North Geelong CC’s Tom Mathieson – for a high-performance opportunity with the Renegades Academy in the lead up to BBL|12.
The Academy team is scheduled to play a series of matches in October against two teams competing in the first round of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, plus an international T20 club and the Melbourne Stars Academy.
“I’m definitely surprised,” Murphy said, after being unveiled as the winner.
“There was some good competition and I was a bit surprised to get through to the last three. To make it all this way, I’m stoked to be here.
“I probably didn’t have the self-belief the last couple of years… Getting this opportunity into a different pathway, I’ll start getting a lot more belief in myself and seeing how far I can take it.
“I’ll keep staying fit and once the weather starts getting a bit nicer in Warrnambool, I’ll start hitting the nets pretty early and cleaning up the skills as much as I can to get myself as best prepared as possible.”
Alongside the Renegades Academy opportunity, Murphy also has won a TCL 55” QLED Google TV and will receive $1,000 worth of Kookaburra gear.
Plus, he has won a host of prizes for his cricket club, including $2,000 worth of Kookaburra gear, 100 tickets to a BBL match and a training session at the CitiPower Centre.
Twelve players were selected to take part in this year’s Renegades Recruit program from Community clubs across metropolitan and regional Victoria.
Recruit Head Coach, Simon Helmot, was assisted by BBL players Mackenzie Harvey, Will Sutherland and Zak Evans in selecting the Final 3.
“It was a really tough selection process and ultimately we landed on three players – Mark, Alistair and Nathan – who all would have been deserving winners based on the attributes we saw through the program,” Helmot said.
“With the public vote, it’s up to the people to decide who gets this opportunity and Mark’s had plenty of people rally around him.
“This program is designed to shine a light on community clubs and identify players who might be capable of taking that next step.
“Mark now gets the opportunity within a Renegades Academy program, alongside 2021 winner Tom Mathieson – after he missed the chance last year due to the pandemic. We hope this will be a positive experience for both in developing their game and taking the next steps with their cricket.”
Renegades Recruit – Season 2 – Squad
Luke Ashen, Moorabbin CC
Liam Callegari, Old Students CC
Andrew Fotinopoulos, Heidelberg CC
Arosh Janoda, St Albans CC
Nathan Johnson, Druids CC
Alistair McCann, North Geelong CC
Isaac McPherson, Brim Kellalac Sheep Hills CC
Liam Mallia, Plenty Valley CC
Mark Murphy, Brierly Christ Church CC
Liam Smith, Golden Square CC
Andy Solomons, South Warrandyte CC
Dale Tormey, Pakenham CC
