Simon Baker had a night to remember on Monday when he picked up the South West Cricket Association's highest honour for the fourth time in his career.
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The Bookaar skipper had a bitter pill to swallow on Saturday when his side fell just 15 runs short of a grand final berth against minor premiers Pomborneit.
But there was plenty of reason to smile at the Noorat Community Centre when Baker won his latest SWCA cricketer of the year award with 14 votes – an incredible 23 years after his first one.
The Pelicans all-rounder, who previously won the SWCA's cricketer of the year in 1996, 2002, and 2010, scored 505 division one runs this season at an average 45.9 to also take home the batting aggregate award.
The 42-year-old joked that the key to his longevity was being needed to fill out the numbers in Bookaar's side.
"I love the game," he said.
"Cricket is my favourite sport, so I just play as much as I can."
Baker's highest score in the 2018/19 season was 100 runs on the dot made, against Noorat in round 11.
"I was too lazy coming back for a second run and ended up getting run out," he told The Standard.
Baker said he was rapt the Pelicans made the finals after a "slow start" saw them lose the first three games of the season.
He said the club has a bright future after its under 16 side defeated Terang by 27 runs on Sunday for back-to-back flags.
Heytesbury Rebels' Bayley Thompson won the bowling aggregate award after taking 36 wickets at an average of 10, with best figures of 5-15 against Pomborneit in round four.
Thompson also took five wickets against Terang in round three and against Bookaar in round 13.
The SWCA team of the year comprised of Bookaar's Simon Baker and Henry Green, Camperdown's Steven Fisher, Heytesbury's Bayley Thompson, Simon Harkness and Noah Ackerley, Mortlake's Tyler Schafer, Clinton Baker and Shane Slater, Pomborneit's David Murphy and Lahiru Fernando, and Terang's Liam Geary.
Simpson captain Bradley Salmon won the SWCA's division two cricketer of the year award and shared the bowling aggregate award with teammate Louis Cain, while Ecklin's Mark Fraser won the batting aggregate award.
Salmon and Cain both took 22 wickets, with Fraser scoring 302 runs.
Bookaar skipper Stephen Fitzgerald won the SWCA's division three cricketer of the year and batting aggregate awards, while Woorndoo's Brady Mifsud won the bowling aggregate award.
Fitzgerald made 548 runs, with Mifsud taking 30 wickets.
Pomborneit will take on Mortlake in the SWCA division one grand final, while Simpson will play off against Heytesbury Rebels in division two and Woorndo in division three.