The third instalment of the NWTCA/CNW Teams of the Decades moves into the 1970s.
It was a period where many of the competition’s pioneers had finished up and a new generation of star players were emerging and putting forward eye-catching performances with both bat and ball.
Batsmen in particular, were starting to score runs in greater quantities thanks to higher quality pitches, and while the bowlers were made to toil that little bit harder, they were still able to amass excellent wicket totals by season’s end.
Yeoman began the decade winning another two flags, adding to the pair they had won at the end of the 1960s to continue being the superpower of the competition, before another three-peat of grand final successes between 1976-1979. Latrobe, under Pakistan international player Sadiq Mohammad as coach, won their maiden premiership in 1973/74, while Burnie, Wynyard and Devonport (twice) also had success.
Leading the charge for Yeoman with the bat was the emergence of one of the competition’s finest-ever players in Trevor Docking. The right-hander amassed 3902 runs at 43.84 during his eight seasons in the 1970s, while Les Allen, Colin Arnold and Maurice Hodgetts were also among the runs each season.
With the ball, the ‘Rolls Royce of fast bowlers’, Harold Allen was again a constant threat across his stints with Latrobe and Devonport, while Paul Jacques (Burnie), Barry Davis (Wynyard) and Bruce Hodgetts (Yeoman), all topped over the 300-wicket mark for the decade.
The 1970s team features nine players who are inducted into the NWTCA/CNW Hall of Fame, while Kevin Brown, Baden Sharman and Harold Allen were selected for their second team of the decade.
TEAM OF THE DECADE – 1971-72 to 1979-80
KEVIN BROWN (Yeoman/Ulverstone): 10 full seasons, 3885 runs @ 32.11; TREVOR DOCKING (Yeoman): 8 full seasons, 3902 runs @ 43.84; COLIN ARNOLD (Devonport): 5 full seasons, 2383 runs @ 37.23; LES ALLEN (Wynyard/Burnie) – WK: 9 full seasons, 3895 runs @ 35.41, 152 catches, 32 stumpings; MAURICE HODGETTS (Burnie/Wynyard): 8 full seasons, 3262 runs @ 33.39; BADEN SHARMAN (Latrobe/Sheffield): 8 full seasons, 2777 runs @ 31.56, 184 wickets @ 15.67; WARREN SQUIBB (Devonport): 10 full seasons, 3355 runs @ 26.42, 180 wickets @ 13.54; BARRY DAVIS (Wynyard): 10 full seasons, 308 wickets @ 13.85; PAUL JACQUES (Burnie): 10 full seasons, 330 wickets @ 12.60; HAROLD ALLEN (Latrobe/Devonport): 8 full seasons, 326 wickets @ 11.21; BRUCE HODGETTS (Yeoman): 10 full seasons, 306 wickets @ 11.81; 12th Man - ROWAN SHERRIFF (Sheffield/Devonport): 7 full seasons, 215 wickets @ 14.79.
