Tara Murray
Druids’ Nathan Johnson standout performances as part of the Melbourne Renegades Recruit television show weren’t enough to get him crowned the winner.
Johnson made it through to the final three of the show, with the winner decided by public vote.
Mark Murphy for Warrnambool received the most public votes to be announced the winner on Tuesday.
Twelve cricketers were whittled down to three after putting their cricket talents on show.
Murphy will now be invited to link up with the Renegades Academy squad, which will play matches in the lead up to the BBL season.
He will also receive prizes for himself and his cricket club.
Johnson said it had been a really good experience in the final episode of the show.
“I think I’ve still got something to prove to myself that I can still do something and mix it with the best,” he said before the final result was revealed.
“You learn a lot about yourself, you learn a lot about other people, It would be a really good opportunity to get back into semi professional cricket and I guess try and get back up to premier cricket and see what can happen from there.
“With T20 cricket evolving and there’s always opportunity. It doesn’t matter how old you are, as long as you’re performing at the right time anything can happen. I know can play cricket and I want to see how far I can really go.”
Johnson was the standout fast bowler in the competition.
Johnson told Star Weekly before the show aired that the opportunity to be involved in the process with some other good cricketers, was too good to refuse.
“There were a lot of good cricketers on the day,” he said.
“It’s always good to be around professionals. It was a good experience to see how full on it was.
“It was a very huge day and it was really enjoyable. All the guys were in the same boat.”
