Premier Cricket: St Kilda fast bowler Zak Evans takes brilliant five-fa in semi-final against Footscray

Adam Crosthwaite described it as “an unbelievable performance’’.

Young paceman Zak Evans has missed a lot of cricket this season because of a shoulder injury, and Crosthwaite, his captain at Premier club St Kilda, says he’s a “forgotten man’’ of Victorian cricket.

But last Sunday the right-armer gave a forceful reminder of his ability.

In the semi-final against Footscray at the Mervyn Hughes Oval, Evans, 22, swept through like a summer storm, grabbing four wickets in an early burst and returning to take a fifth and send the Saints through to the final four.

He finished with 5-53 off 13.4 overs.

State player Travis Dean, caught at slip, and reigning Ryder Medal champion Russ, caught behind as he fended off a short ball, were two of his early victims.

Russ is also Cricket Victoria’s high performance manager, and after the match he tipped praise on Evans’ opening spell.

“Zak’s had a bit of an interrupted time of it, just trying to get his body right, and obviously he held his best for one of the more important games,’’ he said.

“To be fair, that was one of the more brutal spells we’ve seen in a long time.

“He ran in hard and extracted whatever little bit was in that wicket, because it did flatten out after that. But unfortunately for us the damage was done. Credit to him. He lifted their group. If you look at it in footy terms, we were down by six goals after the first five minutes. We didn’t know what hit us, to be honest. And we were on the back foot from that point on.

“He was fast. He was the Zak Evans we know he can be. He’ll take a lot of confidence out of that.’’

The state-contracted Evans, who played his only first-class match for the Vics in 2020-21, crossed to St Kilda from Ringwood this season.

He had to wait until early January to make his first appearance for his new club, in a Super Slam T20.

Crosthwaite said Evans had worked diligently and professionally to regain his fitness and was gaining rewards for it.

He said the Bulldogs succumbed to bowling that was “fast and very skilful’’.

“I think it showed everyone in Victoria how good this kid is,’’ Crosthwaite said.

“There aren’t a lot of people in the country who could do what he did on Sunday.

“People had written him off. He was injured. He was the forgotten man. But he’s fought back through sheer hard work. He often will go to state training during the day and then come and bowl another hard spell at St Kilda training. The boys love him. He’s a great kid. He’s been nothing but amazing since coming to us.’’

Evans wasn’t the only St Kilda player to trumpet his talent in the semi-finals.

Edward Newman followed up his century (125) against Northcote in the elimination final with an innings of 106 not out.

It took him to 613 runs for a season he started with two ducks.

As a Dandenong player, the 23-year-old left-hander held a Victorian rookie contract for two years.

Crosthwaite said it was clear Newman was a better player now than then and the Saints were backing him to make another run for the state squad.

He said in both finals Newman went in when the Saints were under pressure and produced “vital innings’’.

“If he gets out all of a sudden we’re 4-100 as the bottom-ranked team and we’re probably not getting through,’’ Crosthwaite said.

“The hundreds he’s made have been composed and I’m pretty sure they’ve been chanceless. For me, I think he’s a state cricketer. I think he can play a lot for Victoria.

“He knows his results haven’t matched his skills over the last couple of seasons. But it’s turning for him.’’

He said Newman was also the best fielder in the state.

Russ noted: “You talk about finals performances … hundreds in an elimination final and then a semi-final … that’s pretty good going.

“He (Newman) is a kid who’s starting to show a lot of maturation.

“That happens in cricket, particularly around batting. You start to understand your strengths, weaknesses, how to build an innings and the craft of batting. There are different gears and nuances to it that you have to learn. And the only way you learn that is by playing good, hard cricket. He’s now at the point where’s got 60, 70 first XI games and becoming a consistent player, which is exciting.’’