Saker acclaimed as season's best for Tigers

Fast bowler David Saker has capped a memorable season by being named Tasmania's Player of the Year at a glittering award ceremony in Hobart tonight.

The former Victorian paceman beat off a strong field of contenders headed by wicketkeeper-batsman Sean Clingeleffer, batsman Michael Dighton, and fellow new ball bowlers Shane Jurgensen and Damien Wright, to clinch his first major award in his two-year association with Tasmania.

One of the Tigers' most open award counts in years was sealed by Saker's return of 22 wickets in the space of four matches in the middle stages of the Pura Cup season. The 35-year-old claimed a haul of five wickets in an innings only once but, in an effort that embodied outstanding consistency, ended with 38 first-class wickets in total for the summer at the impressive average of 26.39. He garnered a further 11 scalps at one-day level.

Saker is almost certain to be granted an extension on his contract with the Tigers in the wake of tonight's result.

Along with Jurgensen, the right arm fast bowler also shared top billing as the state's Pura Cup Player of the Season. The pair dominated on Tasmania's first-class wicket-taking lists this season, dividing 74 scalps between themselves in the course of their respective campaigns. Jurgensen's season was highlighted by successive 11-wicket match hauls in the final two games, the second handing him the best-ever individual figures in the 20-year history of first-class finals matches in Australia.

Wright was meanwhile a runaway winner of the ING Cup Player of the Season title after a summer in which he again showcased his qualities as one of the country's finest limited-overs cricketers. The 26-year-old also claimed the mantle as the state's top all-rounder of the season after matching his wicket-taking skills with consistent run-scoring productivity in Tasmania's lower order.

Left arm spinner Xavier Doherty was named Young Player of the Year; Dighton won the Captain's Award; and Jurgensen the Chairman's Award. Captain Jamie Cox won the Batting Aggregate prize and Clingeleffer the Batting Average award, while Saker and Jurgensen respectively claimed the Bowling Aggregate and Bowling Average trophies.

Tasmania's on-field performances for the season were headlined by a barnstorming post-Christmas run that saw the team seize a staggering 26 points from its closing five Pura Cup roster games and enabled it to surge into a place in the competition decider against Queensland.

The Tigers' one-day form was not as compelling, however. A controversial last-round defeat against fellow struggler Victoria ensured that they ended the summer in last place on the ING Cup ladder with only one-and-a-half victories from their ten limited-overs appearances.