Leumeah cricketer Jackson Isakka is having another marvellous season up in the Northern Territory.
The Camden Campbelltown Ghosts player is shining with both bat and ball and in all forms of the game.
This is his second stint in Darwin, where he is playing premier club cricket with the Southern Districts Club.
Isakka, who is still just 20 years old, is leading the batting aggregates and averages after 13 rounds with 739 runs at an average of 82.11, including four centuries.
The most recent of these was an undefeated knock of 171 against the PINTS Cricket Club last weekend.
On top of that, Isakka was recently selected to represent the Northern Territory in the Chamber NT Top End Series against a Cricket Australia XI featuring some of the best young players in the country.
He finished the three game, 50 over series as the leading bowler, taking out both the aggregate and average with seven wickets at 12.29.
Isakka was also selected to represent Desert Blaze in the NT Cricket Strike League competition.
The competition, which is also known as Cricket 365, is played in Darwin, and supported by Cricket Australia and the State Cricket Associations.
It’s a three part program consisting of limited overs one day matches, a T20 Tournament and a series of representative matches between the NT Strike side, and a Cricket Australia XI.
The Strike League competition features a number of first class players from around the country.
Jackson’s Strike League team, Desert Blaze, which also features Australian players Tom Andrews and Chris Tremain, last Sunday won the 50 over competition when they beat the Northern Tide side by nine runs.
“Jackson’s all round talents came to the fore with a man of the match performance in the first round of competition, where he scored 81 from 70 balls and took two wickets against City Cyclones,’’ says Ian Gill, Isakka’s coach and mentor, who is keeping a close watch on the talented young cricketer’s progress.
Next up, the Cricket 365 competition will revert to a T20 format, featuring Jackson’s Desert Blaze team and the three other Strike League teams.
Also competing in the T20 competition will be Victorian BBL teams, Melbourne Renegades and Melbourne Stars, which will feature first class players Glenn Maxwell, Nathan Coulter-Nile and Josh Lalor.
This will be a stern challenge for the boy from Leumeah, who also had a stellar season in 2021/21 with the Ghosts.
Isakka scored 671 runs in all forms of competition, including 477 first grade runs, and was named men’s player of the year and batsman of the year.