A breath of fresh air has swept through Werribee Centrals in the VTCA west A1 this season.
Renewed hope in the Centurions camp came after newly appointed co-coaches Matt Kozole and Brad Broughton took the helm.
Kozole was an outsider, recruited from Laverton, who brought fresh ideas and an infectious enthusiasm for the game.
Broughton was promoted from within, a long-time unofficial leader at the club who had moved up to share his vast experience in the game.
There was a hiccup for the side in round one, a close loss to Kingsville Baptists, but it didn’t take the gloss off a positive pre-season.
The Centurions were back on track in round two, when they vanquished some of their batting demons of summers past with a resounding 142-run win over Royal Park-Brunswick.
The positive way the Centurions batted on that day was exactly what the new co-coaches had asked for in the lead-up.
Everything was going swimmingly for Centurions on day one of the third round match against growing rival St Andrews at Galvin Park on Saturday.
Led by Kozole (3-12), Thanancheyan Arunthavapalan (3-36) and Nathan Johnson (2-29), the Centurions had the Saints in a world of hurt on 7-52, but the visitors recovered to post 126. No skin off the noses of the reinvigorated Centurions, right? Well, not so fast.
The Centurions made a strong start to their run chase but were reeled in dramatically late in the day by the Saints bowlers, losing 4-1 at one stage and – in the words of wicketkeeper Chris Duffin – going from odds-on favourite to “even stevens” in the game. At 4-42 and with plenty of batting left in the dressing room and time and overs on their side, the game is still Centurions’ to lose. They will be looking to dictate play at the start of the second day.
“Batting at the end of the day is always difficult,” Duffin said. “It was a change of mindset from the positive one we had last game. It’s important that we’re able to push past our old ways.”
If the Centurions can power to victory, it could set up the rest of their summer.
If they lose, it will be a real setback for the new regime and it could be a long way back from a 1-2 record.
Wyndham Vale’s away clash with Williamstown CYMS will revert to a one-day affair this Saturday after day one was washed out.
