Representing Victoria, Mueller finished the second highest runs scorer at the recent Toyota National Country Cricket Championships in Western Australia.
His 313 runs for the carnival at an average of 44.71 was upstaged only by Western Australian opening batsman and skipper Michael Tassome, who made 454 runs, including two centuries.
In 2010 Mueller skippered the Victorian 13 and under side in the national schoolboys championships in Toowoomba and was the top runmaker for his state and also the carnival in that competition.
Mueller is one of several cricketers from the former Kyabram District Cricket Association to win selection in the All Australian team after the national country championships.
The first former KDCA player to win an All Australian country cricket cap was Kyabram wicketkeeper Steve Bubb.
Tongala’s run-making machine Brad Cambell and club teammates Jamie Murphy and Greg Pearse also represented Victoria.
Campbell was the Player Of The Carnival twice for Victoria and once for the national championship series while Murphy made the Victorian side three times and the All Australian side once.
Murphy also coached the Victorian side for four years and was successful in guiding it to one national title win in that time.
Murphy recalled this week when he coached and played with Victoria the national country championship comprised five two-day 100-over games unlike today when one-day (50 overs) and T20 competitions are the only formats.
Murphy is the father of current Australian spinner Todd Murphy, who cut his cricket teeth playing with the Moama Cricket Club in the Goulburn Murray competition.
Other former Kyabram and district cricketers to represent Victoria at the national country championships are Fire Brigade’s elegant left-handed batter Lawrie Casey and keeper-batsman Wayne ‘Doc’ Thomas and Stanhope’s Mark Divin who went on to play 13 games with Tasmania after a year under former Victorian batter Rohan Larkin at Stanhope.
Interleague relief
Great to see the chance for footballers to represent the Goulburn Valley League in interleague games still remains.
A deal has been done by the GVL with the Victorian Amateur Football Association for these two leagues to meet this year, probably on Saturday, July 11.
The GVL and the Amateurs were left stranded when their respective recent rivals Ovens and Murray and the Bendigo League announced they were locked in to meet each other for the next two years.
The GVL and the Ovens and Murray have clashed for the past four years while last year Bendigo played the Amateurs, a game decided in extra time.
There are plans also for a junior clash and also a women’s match on the day.
GVL chairman Peter Foott said other leagues had courted the GVL when the Ovens and Murray commitment fell over but his league had decided to go with the Amateurs option.
I’m a great believer in interleague football.
I have always held the opinion it’s an honour to represent your club but an even greater privilege to represent your league.
Bradbury honoured
Deniliquin sporting legend Wayne Bradbury has been recognised for 50 years of service to Cricket NSW and Country Cricket NSW.
He was a special guest at the final Australia-England Ashes Test at the Sydney Cricket Ground recently where he met up with former Australian cricketer Adam Gilchrist, who spent time in Deniliquin in his younger years.
Bradley was awarded an Order of Australia honour in 2007 for his services to sport and education.
Archer on target
Former Tatura sportsman Michael Archer is spinning his way to fame in Victorian Premier Cricket in Melbourne.
Up to the second last round, the Carlton leg spinner had picked up 24 wickets across three cricket formats, leading Richmond’s Brendan Rose, who had 22 victims.
Last Saturday, Archer made his debut in the Big Bash League with the Melbourne Renegades. He only got a couple of overs but was tidy.
Another player with a Goulburn Valley connection, Sam Elliott, grabbed headlines last week when he took four wickets for the Renegades in his second game with the team.
Elliott is the son of former Kyabram cricketer and Australian Test opener Matthew Elliott.
New chapter for Novelist
Merrigum trots trainer Luke Bryant didn’t take long to turn around the form of pacer Franco Novelist.
When resuming at a meeting at Melton on December 31 after a year on the sidelines due to suspensory problems, Franco Novelist finished last and was forced back to the trials to get the all-clear to race again.
But at the Shepparton Cup meeting the seven-year-old son of Sportswriter, driven by Taylor Youl, bounced back to blitz his rivals with an impressive performance.
He raced four back in the running line and was forced wide for the last 800 metres but proved more than up to the task and raced clear in the home straight.
Franco Novelist has had only the 27 starts but has won eight of them and been placed another seven times, so if Bryant can keep him on the track he can obviously win more races.
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