Harper Sercombe
Hoppers Crossing can’t wait for the Victorian Sub-District Cricket Association north-west season to kick off.
The Cats finished just outside of finals last season, losing one too many close games, seeing them outside of finals contention in the last round of the year.
However, with another off season under the belt of coach Simon Lambert and a host of exciting recruits such as former international cricketer Fawad Ahmed at his disosal, the Cats are ready to go.
“I’m really looking forward to the season ahead, we’ve had a really good pre season,” Lambert said.
“The strength and the depth is looking really good, so I’m really pleased with how the last few weeks have gone that’s for sure.
“We’ve managed to keep the whole core of our team from last year.
“From a recruitment point of view, we’ve got Fawad, he’s been terrific so far, been to all the sessions and what he can pass on to all the other guys, especially the younger guys is invaluable.”
Ahmed has also helped on the recruiting front, getting Fazel Nawab to the club.
Nawab played for Longford in the Tasmania Premier Cricket competition last season, scoring about 500 runs in nine innings.
The Cats have also recruited Abbas Faiyaz from Footscray in Victoria Premier Cricket. Friyaz will open the bowling for the Cats and bat within the middle order.
Another VPL recruit Kayshik Jagannathan from Greenvale has also arrived at the club. Jagannathan was an assistant coach at the Kangaroos last season and will also be a strong bowling option for the Cats this season.
“He’s been invaluable from a coaching perspective, working with all of the seam bowlers,” Lambert said.
“So the squad is looking really good, hopefully we can blood a few younger guys throughout the year, we have a lot of good juniors at the club.
“The depth and quality of junior talent is right there which is something I’m really big on, so hopefully we can plug that into the first XI over the course of the season.”
With the depth in talent at the Cats, qualifying for finals is just the bare minimum Lambert said.
“This year looking across all the grades, compared to last year we look twice as strong,” he said.
“I’m really hopeful we can get all four teams into the finals and we want to have a good crack at the club championship.
“At the moment if you offered me any other team in the competition [to coach], I don’t think I’d pick anyone else but our squad.
“We’re not just a one man team, we’ve got 11 match winners.
“It’s not on myself, it’s not on Fawad, it’s not on any of the other guys to get the job done every week, it’s going to be a team effort and hopefully each week someone can stand up for us.”
The Cats are scheduled to kick off their 2023-24 campaign on Saturday afternoon, with a two day clash against Kew.
