POMBORNEIT is celebrating Easton Wood's return to cricket after his retirement from the AFL.
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The Western Bulldogs premiership captain has rejoined his junior club and will play each week for the South West Cricket powerhouse.
Wood played in the Bulls' twenty20 competition on Thursday night before making four in his first one-day game of the season on Saturday.
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Pomborneit skipper Grant Place said his long-time friend's decision to travel from Melbourne each weekend to play had added extra intrigue to the Bulls' campaign.
"There's definitely the ex-Pombo player or two who will watch games of cricket who haven't for a few years," he said.
"We played a twenty20 game on Thursday night and the Woolworths' Blast is for a group of kids and they all ran up to get a photo with him."
Wood, an all-rounder who went to Geelong Grammar on a cricket scholarship before focussing on football, retired after the Bulldogs' grand final loss to Melbourne.
The 2015 All-Australian had a delayed start to his cricket comeback due to injury.
"It will be nice to slot him into the top order. I think he is going to play every game," Place said.
"A year or two ago out of the blue he rang me and was like 'do you reckon you'll still be playing cricket in two or three years when I finish footy?'
"I was like 'I would have thought' and he said 'I'm going to come back and play' and sure enough after he retired he's like 'yep, I'm back'.
"He dislocated his wrist in the grand final and had to have a wrist reconstruction on his bowling hand as well.
"He bowled Thursday night in twenty20. It's not quite right yet. It's a bit of a shame because when he was young he was an opening bowler."
Place was named the inaugural Allan McKenzie Medallist for best on ground against Camperdown.
He made 62 in the Bulls' 112-run win which helped them retain the Graham Hillman Shield.
Recruit Amilay Mendis, who travels from Melbourne with Tharaka Sendanayake, used his left-arm off-spin to claim 6-27 in a devastating spell.