There is no inferiority complex at Hoppers Crossing … the Cats already feel they belong in their first season at Sub-District cricket level.
The standard of play is slightly higher and the talent pool runs a little deeper compared to the Turf senior division they played in last summer, but the Cats have proved they can add to their new competition.
“What is noticeable is the consistency of the cricket,” Cats captain-coach Greg Kennedy told Star Weekly. “Teams go a bit deeper, it’s a bit harder work.
“In both our games we’ve bowled exceptionally well, which is our strength. We have a really deep bowling line-up and we just have to get a couple of big scores on the board.”
Belief at Hoppers Crossing has grown since the opening-round victory over Altona. The A’s have been a Sub-District powerhouse, but the Cats went to their home and took all six points.
“It was brilliant to have a first-up win,” Kennedy said. “We were all excited to be [in Sub-District] and we all thought we were good enough.
“It was good to have the validation and the six points on the ladder to show we’re good enough against a respected club like Altona.”
The Cats are not getting ahead of themselves.
They were brought back down to earth with a thud in round two, when they were comprehensively beaten by Yarraville.
Their issues with their bat will not go away, even though Will Partington-Gardner looks primed for a big summer after scoring 73 in the opening game.
The return of opener Luke Goegan will help and there have been promising signs from top-order batsmen Duleeka Thisakuttige and James Grixti.
The bowling attack is money in the bank for Hoppers Crossing. Three front-line quicks – Kennedy, Dinesh Daminda and Alex Wyatt – are complemented by up-and-coming seamer Brett Smith and spinner Mitch Ellis.
Smith, an under-17 premiership captain at the club, could be the wildcard in the pack.
“To have an 18-year-old proving himself at first XI level is exciting for us,” Kennedy said.
Hoppers Crossing will learn a lot about itself and the rest of the competition in the frenetic run-up to Christmas.
Occupying seventh place with nine points, the Cats can either announce themselves as finals contenders or slowly drift away.
“There are 24 points on the line over five weeks,” Kennedy said.
“We can be on 30 points and absolutely flying and right up there, but if we get only six or 12, we may find ourselves floundering.”
The Cats host winless Brighton in a one-day game at Hogans Road Reserve on Saturday.
