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BENDIGO
Captain - Shane Koop.
Last season - 8th (4 wins).
Last season's top runs - Kyle Humphrys (422), Alex Pearson (384).
Last season's top wickets - Alex Pearson (28), Kyle Humphrys (22).
Last season's MVP leaders - Alex Pearson (964), Kyle Humphrys (872).
Arrivals - Mitch Blackman (batsman), Ramdas Kamath (off-spinner/batsman).
Departures - Kane Goldsworthy, Mark Ryan, Brett Andrews.
Captain's comment - "Our main focus is to try to have as much fun as we can; connect to the game, enjoy the game and if that then translates to winning on the field that's a good outcome. But the main thing for us is to enjoy ourselves and focus on the reasons we play community cricket."
In a nutshell - "Spin to win" may well be the mantra adopted by the Goers given their bowling attack is going to have a heavy tweaker focus with Tom Hart, Liam Evans, Kyle Humphrys and recruit Ramdas Kamath. Lost a huge chunk of experience with the retirement of club games record-holder Mark Ryan, while all-rounder Nathan Fitzpatrick will be missing until possibly around the mid-season break as he recovers from a knee injury.
ROUND 1 TEAM - Shane Koop (c), Kyle Humphrys, Xav Ryan, Ramdas Kamath, Alexander Pearson, Mitchell Blackman, Kayle Thompson, Tom Hart, Liam Evans, Craig Pearce, Bailey Goodwin.
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BENDIGO UNITED
Captain - Miggy Podosky.
Last season - 10th (1 win).
Last season's top runs - Jake Klemm (547), Adrian Cronin (220).
Last season's top wickets - Jake Klemm (25), Miggy Podsoky (23).
Last season's MVP leaders - Jake Klemm (1102), Miggy Podosky (677).
Arrivals - Ben Daley (wicket-keeper), Tom Batters (opening bowler), Brady Templeton (leg spinning all-rounder).
Departures - Jayden Templeton, Thomas Starr.
Captain's comment - "I expect that we'll be a more competitive side than last season. The biggest focus for us is improvement and we certainly don't see finals out of the equation with the way the rest of the competition is shaping up."
In a nutshell - The Redbacks are coming off back-to-back wooden spoons. Hopefully for their sake veteran Leigh McDermott can enjoy an injury-free season to bulk up their batting and bowling, while they have secured a new opening bowler in Tom Batters, who has previously played Vic Country and was selected in last season's VCCL Team of the Year. Need to give Jake Klemm much more support with the bat this season.
ROUND 1 TEAM - Miggy Podosky (c), Ashley Younghusband, Hayden Smith, Jake Klemm, Nicholas Williamson, Leigh McDermott, Tom Batters, Adrian Cronin, Benjamin Daley, Louis Banfield, Justin Slater.
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EAGLEHAWK
Captain - Matt Fitt.
Last season - 3rd (8 wins).
Last season's top runs - Anthony West (430), Cory Jacobs (296).
Last season's top wickets - Russell Stockdale (34), Richard Tibbett (25).
Last season's MVP leaders - Russell Stockdale (905), Cory Jacobs (681).
Arrivals - Tom Saker (left-arm bowler), Angus Chisholm (all-rounder).
Departures - Cory Jacobs, Shaun Knott, Cam McGlashan, Marcus McKern.
Captain's comment - "We'll be a lot younger side this year. If our younger players really come on and play well then we could still be a finals side. We're realistic in that it's a season where where we're probably not thinking about the flag, the main focus is improvement out of our kids."
In a nutshell - So long renowned for their bowling arsenal, the Hawks have taken a massive hit with the losses of Cory Jacobs, Shaun Knott and Cam McGlashan and potentially Richard Tibbett also. Between those four players there's 63 wickets and 434 overs from last season. Have added left-armer Tom Saker, who has previous Premier Cricket experience at Carlton, but it's certainly going to be a much younger Hawks' outfit than previous years.
ROUND 1 TEAM - Not supplied.
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GOLDEN SQUARE
Captain - Liam Smith.
Last season - 2nd (12 wins).
Last season's top runs - Tim Wood (659), Ben Gunn (547).
Last season's top wickets - Ben Gunn (30), Liam Smith (29).
Last season's MVP leaders - Ben Gunn (1217), Scott Trollope (922).
Arrivals - Kyle Chant (batsman), Alex Code (batsman).
Departures - Scott Woodman, Tim Wood.
Captain's comment - "We've lost some important players, but we're really hopeful that the blokes we give an opportunity to will be able to come in and perform a role. We know we probably won't be finishing on top, but we still think we'll be thereabouts in terms of challenging to play finals."
In a nutshell - Batting has suffered significantly with Scott Woodman having a year off and Tim Wood retiring. Plus with Ben Gunn not playing early in the season, that's the Bulldogs missing their top three batsmen of last summer who combined for 1611 runs. Tough to cover.
ROUND 1 TEAM - Liam Smith (c), Ryan Hartley, Jake Higgins, Tom Campbell, Kyle Chant, Scott Trollope, Corey Van Aken, Riley Hocking, Scott Johnson, Kyal Rasmussen, Grant Connelly.
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HUNTLY-NORTH EPSOM
Captain - Elliott Massina.
Last season - 1st (10 wins).
Last season's top runs - Ryan Grundy (558), Danushka Wijemanna (553).
Last season's top wickets - Adam Ward (37), Brett Elvey (21).
Last season's MVP leaders - Adam Ward (1284), Danushka Wijemanna (968).
Arrivals - Lewis Stabler (bowling all-rounder), Ajith Rajapaksha (wicket-keeper), Nick Leach (bowler).
Departures - Shehan De Silva.
Captain's comment - "It's a little bit different (going into the season as the reigning premier), but we probably still see ourselves as somewhat of an outsider and underdog. We know there's probably a little more pressure on in terms of our performance and, hopefully, we'll be stronger through the B and C Grade, which will put more pressure on our A Grade blokes to perform."
In a nutshell - The Power head into the season with a target on their back as the reigning premiers. Have kept the bulk of their premiership team together, added a quality all-rounder in Lewis Stabler and another Sri Lankan in Ajith Rajapaksha and given the confidence they would have taken out of last season should be right there again when the whips are cracking.
ROUND 1 TEAM - Elliott Massina (c), Tharindu Darshana, Brett Elvey, Ryan Grundy, Ajith Rajapaksha, Sandun Ranathunga, Lewis Stabler, Anthony Tanner, Adam Ward, Mitchell Whittle, Danushka Wijemanna.
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KANGAROO FLAT
Captain - Brent Hamblin.
Last season - 9th (4 wins).
Last season's top runs - Chris Barber (442), Dylan Gibson (325).
Last season's top wickets - Brent Hamblin (26), Chris Barber (24).
Last season's MVP leaders - Chris Barber (1002), Brent Hamblin (860).
Arrivals - Josh Collinson (batsman), Ben Birkhead (keeper-batsman), Tyler Hinds (batsman).
Departures - Ryan Bell, Luke Stagg.
Captain's comment - "We'll be looking to really improve our batting... that has been our weakness over the past couple of years. Last year we had games where we might have bowled well, but not batted well, or the other way around, so we need to play with more consistency."
In a nutshell - The big question over the Roos is can they fire with the bat to back up the strength of their bowling? Given they've added three batsmen in Josh Collinson, Englishman Ben Birkhead and the return of Tyler Hinds the answer points to yes, and if that's the case expect the Roos to make their mark this season.
ROUND 1 TEAM - Brent Hamblin (c), Christopher Barber, Daniel Barber, Adam Burns, Josh Collinson, Matt Dwyer, Dylan Gibson, Jay Mcleod, Dylan Klemm, Tyler Hinds.
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SANDHURST
Captain - Taylor Beard.
Last season - 5th (8 wins).
Last season's top runs - Joel Murphy (487), Shasheen Fernando (451).
Last season's top wickets - Taylor Beard (23), Sam Sperling (16).
Last season's MVP leaders - Taylor Beard (775), Matt Combe (666).
Arrivals - Ben Leed (all-rounder), Ben Evans (leg-spinner).
Departures - Tyler Hinds, Nick Gladman, Darby Semmens.
Captain's comment - "We're looking at growth internally... we've always had good kids, so if we can get good years out of our younger players we think we should still be in the hunt. We had a bit of an interrupted year last season with a lot of unavailabilities, so we think we've still got plenty of upside if we can get our balance right."
In a nutshell - Ash Gray (back injury) won't be playing early, Craig Howard will again be juggling Cricket Australia coaching duties, but still look to have enough talent with the likes of captain Taylor Beard, Matt Combe, Sam Sperling, Joel Murphy and co to be in the finals mix.
ROUND 1 TEAM - Taylor Beard (c), Shasheen Fernando, Matthew Combe, Nahid Hossain, Kayde Howard, Jack Ryan, Shane Robinson, Joel Murphy, Ben Leed, Sam Sperling, Nathan Walsh.
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STRATHDALE-MARISTIANS
Captain - Ben DeAraugo.
Last season - 4th (7 wins).
Last season's top runs - Jack Neylon (478), Cameron Taylor (461).
Last season's top wickets - Cameron Taylor (49), Adrian Pappin (17).
Last season's MVP leaders - Cameron Taylor (1561), Sam Johnston (727).
Arrivals - Chris Sole (bowler), Grant Waldron (batsman).
Departures - Andrew Chalkley, Mitch Blackman, Dylan Bailie.
Captain's comment - "We were impacted early last year by a lot of unavailability and injury, so hopefully, that won't be the case again this season and we can have our full team out on the park more, which will lead to more consistency. It's our batting where we will look to make the biggest improvement after we probably had four or five players under-perform last season."
In a nutshell - The Suns will enter the season shaping as the side to beat. What's an already quality outfit has been further boosted by the inclusion of Scottish international Chris Sole, who bowls with plenty of pace, and top-order batsman Grant Waldron, who captained Northcote's second XI last season. An envious batting line-up given Ryan Haythopre, who averaged 42 last season, may well be their No.11.
ROUND 1 TEAM - Ben DeAraugo (c), Cameron Taylor, Grant Waldron, Ryan Haythorpe, Linton Jacobs, Jacob DeAraugo, Sam Johnston, Patrick Murphy, Daniel Clohesy, Chris Sole, James Vlaeminck, Jack Neylon.
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STRATHFIELDSAYE
Captain - Ben Devanny.
Last season - 7th (5 wins).
Last season's top runs - Ben Devanny (464), Chathura Damith (256).
Last season's top wickets - Savith Priyan (28), Chathura Damith (20).
Last season's MVP leaders - Savith Priyan (793), Ben Devanny (759).
Arrivals - Stuart Payne (bowler).
Departures - Luke Jones, Abe Sheahan, Michael Curtis.
Captain's comment - "We've started well the past couple of years and then lost our way. We're probably a little underdone going into the season compared to previous years given we've had quite a few guys playing footy. To be better this season we need to improve our batting. We didn't have anyone make a hundred last year, so we need to make sure we can get some more runs on the board this season."
In a nutshell - The Jets' two imports from last season, Chathura Damith and Savith Priyan, are both back, while a new addition is bowler Stuart Payne from Mooroopna. Lost two of their top four run-scorers of last season in Abe Sheahan, who is headed to Carlton, and Luke Jones, which places further pressure on a batting line-up that needs to lift if the Jets are to improve. Play six of their first seven games at home.
ROUND 1 TEAM - Benjamin Devanny (c), Jack Stubbs, Savith Priyan, Chathura Damith, Seamus Dwyer, Pat Felmingham, Callum McCarty, Stuart Payne, Jed Rodda, Zoltan Smyth, Darcy Hunter.
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WHITE HILLS
Captain - Mitch Winter-Irving.
Last season - 6th (6 wins).
Last season's top runs - Mitch Winter-Irving (674), Ollie Geary (445).
Last season's top wickets - Rhys Irwin (25), Linc Jacobs (23).
Last season's MVP leaders - Mitch Winter-Irving (1054), Rhys Irwin (978).
Arrivals - Dylan Bailie (bowler), Hamish Richards (batsman), Ollie Forbes (keeper).
Departures - Ben Daley.
Captain's comment - "Hopefully, we'll have a bit of extra depth throughout the grades. We were good with our white ball cricket last year, so hopefully, we can get a few more wins in the two-day games to help us get around the mark."
In a nutshell - Secured an overseas keeper-batsman in Ollie Forbes and also added another batsman in Hamish Richards, while Dylan Bailie strengthens the bowling. Should be more depth at the Demons this year, which bodes well in improving on last season's six wins.
ROUND 1 TEAM - Mitchell Winter-Irving (c), Dylan Bailie, Caleb Barras, Gavin Bowles, Oliver Geary, Hamish Richards, Justin Slattery, Lincoln Jacobs, Rhys Irwin, Jayden Sheean, Jack Bourke.
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WESTY'S WORD:
THE 2019-20 Bendigo District Cricket Association season begins on Saturday with a familiar flag favourite - Strathdale-Maristians.
The Suns have been a powerhouse of the competition, winning five of the past nine premierships and playing in the past 14 finals series.
No doubt hungry to atone for their inconsistent year last season when they needed to conjure a last-round outright win over White Hills just to make the finals before being belted by Golden Square in their semi-final, the Suns will have plenty of fire in the belly this campaign.
An already star-studded Suns' line-up has been further boosted by the addition of Scottish international bowler Chris Sole and top-order batsman Grant Waldron from Northcote, plus the return of Sam Johnston, who suffered a foot injury late last season.
For mine, the Suns are the clear flag favourites, while I expect Huntly-North Epsom to shape as perhaps their biggest threat come March.
The Power enter the season in unfamiliar territory: that as the reigning premiers after winning the grand final last season and given their journey to their flag - remember, they started 0-3 - there should be plenty of belief at Strauch Reserve.
Clearly though, the Power won't want to be chasing their tails like last season and they open their account on Saturday in a home clash of the past two premiers against Sandhurst.
Kangaroo Flat has gone out and done what it needed to do - strengthen its batting with Josh Collinson, Ben Birkhead from England and Tyler Hinds added. The Roos will be a side stacked with experience and I don't see any excuse for the Roos not to play finals.
Golden Square and Eaglehawk finished 1-2 on the ladder last season, but both have some big losses - Square in the batting department; while the Hawks bowling has been decimated.
Both teams certainly look under the pump to hold their spots in the top four.
So, who will put their hands up to take them - or can Square and the Hawks prove the doubters wrong?
Looking into the crystal ball, I'm tipping the Suns to finish on top, followed by the Power and Roos and the last spot in the four to be taken by either Sandhurst or White Hills in what has the makings of a very competitive season.
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