James Murphy
THERE will be one thing on the minds of East Gambier cricketers when they take to the pitch for the opening round of Barber Shield cricket this weekend.
The Bulldogs impressed last year to make the decider, but stumbled at the final hurdle to a strong Penola outfit.
Now they will pad up for another shot at premiership glory, with hopes to take it one step further this year.
A few movements over the off-season will alter the line-up slightly, but East Gambier president Michael Little expected the Bulldogs to be up around the mark again.
“In A Grade we have lost a couple of players from last year, but we have also picked up a couple,” he said.
“Probably the main in is young Alex Hill from West Gambier.
“He has been brought into the side to take on the wicketkeeping responsibility to give Dion Stratford a bit of a rest.”
The move will give Stratford a chance to focus predominantly on his batting and Little expected him to be a key run-maker for East again this year.
He finished 2021-22 with a handful of half centuries, while fell just eight runs short of a ton in Round 10.
Stratford will be joined by Emerson Marks as another big hitter, while some more familiar faces will lead the bowling attack.
“Our bowling attack is going to still be spearheaded by Alex Hentschke and young Liam Turley,” Little said.
Steven Cameron and Leigh Von Duve have both left the side from last year, as Cameron ventures back to his home club in Victoria, while Von Duve has retired.
However, Little has confidence in the club’s youth, with a few junior talents expected to rise to the occasion.
“We have Alex Hill and we have two or three young blokes who played B Grade cricket last year, who will now be given the opportunity to step up and represent the club in the main game,” Little said.
Reflecting on the 2021-22 result, there remains plenty of excitement around the club despite the loss, with a keen focus on returning to the big game this season.
“The club was ecstatic to make the grand final last year,” Little said.
“We are encouraging them to learn from the experience of last year and take it on to bigger and better things this year.
“Hopefully we can go that next step further and end up getting the prize at the end of the season.”
The Bulldogs have had a few training sessions – between showers – and Little said they had been greeted with good numbers and support for the year ahead.
“We are quite happy with where we are situated at the moment and look forward to the challenge of the coming season,” he said.
“It is a fantastic club environment for our seniors at the moment.”
East will open the season with a one-day match at home against South Gambier.
