Tara Murray
Confidence is abuzz at Hoppers Crossing for the Victorian Sub-District Cricket Association east-west season.
The Cats have been one of the big movers in the off season, with several new players to step into their top side.
One of them is new captain-coach Simon Lambert who is excited by the upcoming season.
“It’s the strongest position the club has been in for a few years,” he said.
“I’ve been pleasantly surprised by the amount of depth at the club and the facilities.
“We have a lot of good cricketers at the club and we wanted to keep what we have and add a few more.
“Hopefully we can get the results on the board.”
Lambert said they had about 70 players attend training sessions across all grades which is a positive sign.
He said from a first XI perspective there would be five or six new players in the side this season.
“We were expecting to get in some quality players, two or three, but five or six is a bit more than we expected,” he said.
“We’re looking forward to what they will do. They will all be welcomed additions and add some depth to our second side and our third and fourths sides will be stronger.
Former first class batsman Shijit Chandran joins the club, while English wicketkeeper-bats Alex Bone have both come across.
Gurpreet Singh and Ed Common both turned up to training after moving to the area and will be handy inclusions to the side.
Lambert said there was a lot of talent among the squad.
“We have five spinners and it’s one of the best spinning attacks I’ve seen in my time,” he said.
“We have nine bowlers and nine or 10 batters. We’ll be very competitive.”
With the influx of players and more depth, Lambert and the club are keen to return to finals for the first time since the 2015-16 season.
“If we put everything together on the field, we will be hard to beat,” he said.
“We’re aiming for finals.”
The Cats will be hoping to get underway next Saturday after the two first weekends were cancelled due to wet weather.
The association has changed the fixture to ensure no matches are lost due to the delayed start to the season.
The round two two-dayer will become a one-dayer starting on October 22, while round one will be played as a one-dayer this Saturday.
Speaking before the decision was made, Lambert had said he was hoping to see that would be the case.
The Cats will face Yarraville next Saturday, while Werribee will play Spotswood.
