While most Horsham Cricket Association players were either resting up or playing football, Mahoney spent the winter months of 2018 honing his craft on the other side of the globe. 

“I went over to England in the winter and played a bit of twenty20 cricket over there,” he said. “I was doing some groundskeeping work at a premier league cricket club and the club I played for was a couple of suburbs over.

“It had sort of been on my bucket list. I was getting too old for football and I was between jobs so I thought why not – it was something a bit different.” 

Now back in the midst of the Wimmera’s hottest spell, Mahoney has had to adapt to some fairly different conditions.

“I was up in Liverpool and one game they were complaining it was a bit cold – I think it might have been about eight degrees,” Mahoney said.

“That was about round two. They delayed the first round because the pitches weren’t ready because it snowed two weeks earlier.”

Mahoney has certainly returned to Laharum in solid form. He overtook Horsham Saint’s Jono Carroll as A Grade’s leading wicket taker last weekend with two wickets against Jung.

“I just go out there to have a bit of fun and I’ve been a bit lucky,” he said. “I’ve bowled a bit more this year and we’ve held our catches.

“I just keep plodding away bowling line and length and see what happens.”

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Mahoney has also been handy as an opening batsmen. His top score of the season was 71 against the Horsham Saints in round four, where he and captain Daniel Griffiths combined for an opening partnership of 150. 

Laharum are going to need Mahoney to be firing with the bat and ball for the remainder of the season if they are to book themselves a spot in the finals. Laharum are currently outside the top four on percentage behind Jung.

This week they take on the undefeated Homers side who are on top of the ladder.

“That two month stretch we had of not winning a game definitely didn’t help much,” Mahoney said.

“When we get everyone on the park we’d be competitive with just about anyone. But you lose a couple of players every week.

“We’re pretty happy this year, we’ve had a lot more kids playing.”

In another key match of the weekend, third-placed Rup-Minyip take on the fourth-placed Jung Tigers at City Oval..

West Wimmera and the Horsham Saints also do battle with both teams looking for their first wins since the Christmas break.

With just five rounds left, teams don’t want to be dropping any winnable matches.