The News picks its ones to watch in the 2025-26 Cricket Shepparton Haisman Shield season
Stump skittlers, rope clearers and jacks of all trades — who will make the ball sing in Cricket Shepparton this season?
Hold tight - we’re checking permissions before loading more content
With the weekend’s T20 tournament giving us an appetiser, Saturday will serve as the main course with the curtain finally opening on another Haisman Shield campaign.
And so, we scrolled through a mix of locals, imports and Haisman-proven talents to select 10 names to keep an eye on through the warmer months.
10) Joel May (Mooroopna)
Mooroopna needs someone to lead the way batting-wise this season, and Joel May is the best candidate to be the club’s new lodestar.
Revered bladesman Brodie McDonald has retired, taking 5600 runs’ worth of experience out of Mooroopna’s order, but another home grown product in May is worthy of filling the hole.
Last year, he proved why.
May was Mooroopna’s best with the willow, knocking up four half-centuries for a total of 323 runs in the Haisman Shield, his best ever return at A-grade level.
A dazzling 53 off 37 balls in the recent T20 tournament eludes to the left-hander having the bit between his teeth this season, and right when Mooroopna needs a spark, May is ready to bring the high-voltage batting.
9) Emile Haratbar (Pine Lodge)
Looking for someone to make a meal of opposition bowlers? Call Emile Haratbar.
Pine Lodge’s English import is back for another season down under, and after topping the Lodgers’ scoring charts in his debut Haisman Shield season, it’s not hard to see why.
The young wicketkeeper-batter peeled off 341 runs at 21.3 in a wooden spoon-earning year, complementing his 13 catches and two stumpings for the green army.
That’s not all.
Haratbar enters the new Haisman Shield campaign fresh off a career-best English summer, where he amassed 607 runs at 30.4 for Accrington Cricket Club.
Expect big things from the young right-hander in 2025-26.
8) Tiron Fernando (Old Students)
A cricketing journeyman, Old Students have landed a cunning seamer in its line-up.
Tiron Fernando crosses from Pine Lodge to the Students’ fold, where the paceman has immediately made an impact.
Fernando claimed five wickets in the Cricket Shepparton T20 tournament, including game-high figures of 4-21 against Nagambie, while only three other A-grade cricketers could claim better figures at the weekend.
Fernando claimed 58 wickets over two seasons with Pine Lodge at an average of 15.7, and could be one of the key recruits that push Old Students towards a finals appearance in 2026.
7) Mitch Winter-Irving (Nagambie)
The ever-reliable Winter-Irving is one of Nagambie’s X-factors, shining since his return to the club.
He enjoyed an all-rounders season to remember, snaring 34 wickets and shooting past the 500-run mark to help nearly fire the Lakers to Haisman Shield glory.
It was his star turn in the decider against Waaia that reiterated his credentials as a big-game player, and one to watch again.
His nine-wicket haul – including six in the first innings – was another reminder of his class, and if the crafty left-armer can emulate last year’s campaign, then Nagambie will once again be a contender for Cricket Shepparton’s crown jewel.
6) Ethan Baxter (Karramomus)
The former Central Park-St Brendan’s gun has traded the yellow and black for the Karramomus red.
The young right-arm pace bowler returns after a year out of the competition, his last season with the ball netting him 17 wickets.
But his recent exploits with the bat for his new club show he could be equally dangerous with the willow in hand.
Baxter cracked 77 off 50 balls in the Bloods’ T20 grand final victory over his old mob in Central Park to stamp himself as a danger man of the Haisman Shield with a few strings to his bow.
5) Tyler Green (SYCU)
Shepparton Youth Club United has bolstered its batting ranks this off-season, in the form of a returning clubman.
Tyler Green, a United junior, returns to the club after two seasons with Katamatite in the Murray Valley Cricket Association.
Green led Katamatite for runs scored, and was sixth on average for the league (44.8 runs per inning).
His season prior included individual feats of a century, two half-tons and four instances of carrying the bat as an opener.
Green made an instant impact in his usual role for SYCU in the T20 tournament last weekend, notching 55 runs off 50 balls against Tatura.
4) Kyle Fitzgerald (Kyabram)
If his T20 form is anything to go by, Kyle Fitzgerald is in for one hell of a year.
The Redbacks batter crafted knocks of 51 and 45 (and a two ball duck, but who’s counting) in his first forays back at Kyabram since spending the past summer playing footy in the Top End.
With more than 3300 career runs to his name in the red and black, Fitzgerald offers powerful hitting at the top and will likely partner Billy McLay as an opener, allowing others to slot into a more natural middle order hole.
That gives Kyabram another string to its bow – scary stuff if you’re the opposition.
3) Brandon Diplock (Waaia)
Could Brandon Diplock be the Haisman Shield’s newest double threat?
Waaia saw highly-touted all-rounder Liam Evans head back to Nathalia over the off-season, but the Bombers may have replaced him with an even bigger weapon.
Enter Diplock, a former Zimbabwean under-19 international.
The 30-year-old is coming off a 524 run, 43-wicket summer for Oswestry Cricket Club, while his last foray down under was just as dazzling, logging 203 runs and 31 wickets for Albury Cricket Club.
Reigning premier Waaia was carried by Mitch Cleeland and Jesse Trower last season, but with a genuine all-rounder with List A experience to boot, the Bombers will take some beating if Diplock can turn the screw.
2) Jarrod Wakeling (CPStB)
If you don’t know what to expect Jarrod Wakeling, you’ve been living under a rock - and it would be wise to do some research if you’re a batsman in the Haisman Shield.
The league-leading wicket taker last summer, Wakeling sent opposition batsmen back to the sheds on 51 occasions, the first bowler to surpass the wicket half-ton since the 2019-20 season.
Central Park St Brendan’s will be aiming to be around the mark again this summer - the Tigers fell short of a T20 tournament trophy, but after failing to capitalise on a minor premiership in March, Wakeling’s impact with the ball will be vital if the yellow and black are to maintain their status as a heavyweight contender.
1) Kyle Mueller (Kyabram)
The Wiz is a frequent flyer on this list.
Year on year, the Redbacks’ skipper accumulates runs like Homer Simpson does doughnuts, and there’s nothing to suggest that will change in the coming season.
Technical, powerful, and hard to stop once he gets going, the reigning Lightfoot Medallist belted 772 runs at an average of 85.78 last season, peeling off four tons in a campaign that was far and away good enough for Cricket Shepparton’s highest individual honour, as well as a spot in the VCCL Team of the Year.
Bowlers beware - the imperious left-hander looks set to be a significant roadblock at number four once again.