Wyndham Vale is hoping a bit more consistency will help it move up the Victorian Turf Cricket Association Russell Pollock Shield ladder this season.
The Vales have been up and down for the past few seasons, unable to put together a whole season.
Vales president Jay Dolliver said they were hoping another season under their belts together would prove vital.
“Hopefully we can have a little bit more consistency this year,” he said. “We started off last year really well and only lost one game before Christmas and fell away a little bit in the second half of the year.
“We relied on a couple of guys and if they didn’t make runs or take wickets we struggled a bit.
“That is a work in progress and we have to make sure we own our roles and deliver for the team.”
Dolliver said overall things had been pretty solid through the off season, with things looking good across the club.
“It hasn’t been too bad,” he said. “We’ve had a little bit of a change since last year.
“We lost a couple of players with people moving to the other side of the city.
“Our first XI will be pretty similar. We’ve been able to pick up some from other local clubs.”
Dolliver said the aim for the group this season was to make finals.
He said they were hoping some of their younger players would step up and further make steps in the right direction.
“We’ve still a really young group in the first XI,” he said. “We’ve been watching the kids grow and hopefully with a little more consistency we’ll push into the top four.
“Michael Fry is a leg spinner who is likely to bat in the top order. Jacob Carter will be our opening bowler.
“We’ve got a young player coming back that is likely to be the keeper for us.”
The Vales had to wait another week to kick off the season, with the opening round postponed with not enough grounds ready.
Dolliver said their ground wouldn’t be ready this week, with the footy club having made the ground final.
The Vales first XI is set to be on the road this Saturday in a one-dayer against Melton Centrals.
“We had a good win against them last year,” Dolliver said. “It will be interesting to see how we start the year.”
In other matches set for this weekend, Point Cook is due to face East Keilor and Point Cook Centrals are on the road against Melton South in the Roy Picone Shield.
In the Evans-Clark Shield, Bellbridge is at home against Laverton and Werribee Centrals is set to face Sunshine YCW.
