O’Donnell and Wareham nominated for Future Star Award

O’Donnell, son of former Australian cricketer Simon O’Donnell, has been a regular fixture in the Essendon First XI this season in the Victorian Premier competition.

He has taken 11 wickets for the season thus far, including 3-43 in a win against Geelong.

O’Donnell also represented Vic Metro at the Under 19 National Championships in December, taking seven wickets in eight games including best of 2-22 against the Northern Territory.

Wareham was a standout performer with the ball for Victoria during the Under 18 Female National Championships.

She was the leading wicket taker for the competition with 16 wickets in eight games, including a bag of 6-16 against Queensland and an important haul of 3-31 against NSW Metro in the final.

Wareham was also enjoyed some time in the middle with the bat, scoring 171 runs in seven innings with a top score of 56 and an average of 34.2.

Her performances with both bat and ball were a cornerstone of Victoria’s successful campaign, where they ended the 11-year reign of New South Wales to claim the Betty Butcher Shield.

Introduced in 2005-06, the Commonwealth Bank Future Star Award is presented each season to the best under-19 Victorian male and female player based on the their form at Premier Cricket level and at the National Championships, with nominations selected by a panel of committee members on a monthly basis.

Past winners of the award include Aaron Finch, Meg Lanning and Jessica Cameron, who have all represented Australia.

The winners of the Commonwealth Bank Future Star Award will be crowned at the Cricket Victoria State Awards at the end of March.

Commonwealth Bank Future Star Award 2015-16 nominees
October: Adam McMaster (Dandenong CC) & Makinley Blows (Workers Gol Gol CC)
November: Liam Banthorpe (Fitzroy-Doncaster CC) & Hayleigh Brennan (Box Hill CC)
December: Blake Thomson (Melbourne CC) & Annabel Martin (Essendon Maribyrnong Park LCC)
January: Tom O’Donnell (Essendon CC) & Georgia Wareham (Essendon Maribyrnong Park LCC)

Commonwealth Bank Future Star Award past winners
2014-15: Sam Grimwade (Prahran CC) & Tayla Vlaeminck (Plenty Valley CC)
2013-14: Matt Short (Northcote CC) & Sophie Molineux (Dandenong WCC)
2012-13: Ben Ashkenazi (Frankston Peninsula CC) & Kirsty Lamb (Plenty Valley CC)
2011-12: Meyrick Buchanan (Geelong CC) & Anna Lanning (Box Hill CC)
2010-11: Dylan Kight (Footscray-Edgewater CC) & Molly Strano (Essendon Maribyrnong Park LCC)
2009-10: Alex Keath (Melbourne CC) & Cassie Brock (Essendon Maribyrnong Park LCC)
2008-09: David King (Ringwood CC) & Meg Lanning (Box Hill CC)
2007-08: Michael Hill (Melbourne CC) & Elyse Villani (Brunswick Park LCC)
2006-07: Kumar Sarna (Dandenong CC) & Jessica Cameron (Brunswick Park LCC)
2005-06: Aaron Finch (Geelong CC) & Emma Inglis (Brunswick Park LCC)