Calmore Sports Club are delighted to announce that top order batter Chris Diston has agreed to join the club as our overseas player for the 2024 season.
Chris, a right-handed batter mainly in the top three, is the fourth player to join Calmore Sports from the Casey South Melbourne Cricket Club in Victoria, and is pictured flanked by familiar legendary faces in Liam O’Connor from last season and the 2010 overseas Michael Wallace. Chris joins us having been highly recommended by both men.
The 19-year-old, who turns 20 shortly before he arrives ahead of the SPCL Division One season in April, will be taking a break from his university studies in business and finance at the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT) University and his job at Bunning’s Warehouse, and is thoroughly looking forward to the experience, having heard so much about his team mate Twisty’s experiences in 2023.
“I’ve only heard good things about the club from Wally and LOC,” said Chris. “Wally said it’s a great club and thoroughly enjoyed his time there and Twisty said he had the best time of his life playing over there so I didn’t need much convincing to want to come over.”
“I am extremely grateful to Calmore for giving me the opportunity to come over and do something that I’ve always wanted to do and I hope we can have a great season on the park.”
Former 1st XI skipper Mark Lavelle, who played alongside Chris’ brother Leigh during his spell in Melbourne in 2013/14 is very much looking forward to welcoming ‘Disto’ to Loperwood Park next season.
“Both Wallo and Twisty have said very good things about him,” Mark said. “He is a top order batter, capable of batting in the first three or four and has got a good record including a superb 96 last year and a few other fifty plus scores in averaging over 30.
“When it was mentioned to Johnser [1st XI captain Ben Johns], he was very keen to get him in, especially having lost Twisty and Fish from the last season. Having lost those two, we needed a top order batter and you can be sure that Chris will be wanting to trump Liam’s run tally from last year.”
Chris, who started his cricketing career at Hallora Cricket Club, a small town to the south-east of Melbourne, he joined Casey aged 15 and has been a regular performer, prodominently in the second grade sides.
“He will be more than a useful addition to the squad,” added Mark, “and we are hearing he is a good drinker too, so better than Liam was last year!!”
