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Scorchers star wins again

Joe SarseroMandurah Coastal Times

The championship-winning Perth Scorchers left-hander will leave a legacy at Rockingham-Mandurah that may never be touched, not that the 30-year-old is anywhere near finished yet.

The Mariners sensation polled either the maximum three or two votes on eight occasions from his 14 matches to finish clear of the chasing pack with 20 votes. He was a clear-cut victor on the back of 604 runs at 46.46 and 20 wickets at 23.8.

He continues to be the benchmark that all other Rockingham-Mandurah players are judged by and his third Baird Medal comes after his long-awaited breakout with two centuries for the Perth Scorchers.

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Add this to last season’s Olly Cooley Medal, where he will be one of the main fancies again in 2013-14 and it’s hard to argue that he hasn’t raised the bar yet again.

Simmons and Baird were teammates in Rockingham-Mandurah’s inaugural first grade team in 2000-01 with the award and night honouring the memory of State junior all-rounder Baird, who died before the 2002-03 season.

The red-headed larrikin played 17 first-grade matches and 110 all up for the Mariners, working his way through as an under-13 player with significant promise.

The medal can be won by any senior player and is voted on by the players after each round. The rest of the leader board signified the efforts of all four grades as Brad Ranford finished runner-up on 14 votes, fourth-grade paceman Richard Dawkins whipping home on 13 and Nathan Anderson, Michael Chappell, Adeel Ejaz and John Murphy getting 11 votes apiece.

Apart from the esteem that the night is held in by all Mariners members, it was a rocking occasion after the club won their games in all four grades for the first time in 14 seasons.

This was confirmed with second grade’s one-wicket win at Lilac Hill after never looking likely through much of the match chasing Midland-Guildford’s 214.

Simmons took two votes from first grade’s 126-run smacking of the Swans at Lark Hill by making a 61-ball 79 and taking 4-39.

Rockingham-Mandurah’s total of 6-313 was underpinned by Josh Smith’s gem of 131 from 120 balls, featuring 13 fours and four sixes as the Mariners went bananas early,

After just 16 overs they were 1-130.