WHITE Hills will be hoping a more even contribution with the ball can help elevate the Demons back into the finals mix in the Bendigo District Cricket Association this season.
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The Demons - who have the BDCA's longest premiership drought dating back to 1993 - are coming off a sixth-placed finish last season.
The Demons ranked fourth for batting last season, but there is plenty of scope for improvement with the ball where they were ranked eighth and had the duo of Rhys Irwin and spinner Linc Jacobs with 23 apiece combine for almost half the team's wickets.
"Looking back to last season there were times we struggled with the ball," Demons' captain Mitch Winter-Irving said.
"Rhys and Linc were fairly reliable, but the rest of us conceded a few too many runs at times, so we've got to work on ways as a whole bowling unit that we can lock down opposition teams."
There has been minimal off-season movement at the Demons.
Off-spinner Jack Bourke has returned to the club after a stint in Geelong, while from the first XI side Tyrone Muir, Dylan Baillie and Tom Dunham are outs.
"There hasn't been a lot of change with us," said Winter-Irving, who is captaining the Demons for a seventh-consecutive season.
"There's probably a few guys coming back into the other grades, so we think overall as a club we'll have a bit more depth.
"We've got Sam Lowes (keeper-batsman) coming back after a playing down at Carlton last season. He's only 17, but he's coming on really well and playing those lower grades down in Melbourne really should help him and he'll get his chance at some point."
The Demons' top-end talent in Winter-Irving, Irwin and the evergreen Gavin Bowles, who is now the holder of the club's games record, remains high quality, while the team will be hoping Caleb Barras can build on his output from last season.
Barras churned out 414 runs last season behind only Bowles' 527.
"At one stage last season Caleb was leading the runs for the league and we had Ollie Geary as well who finished off the year well," Winter-Irving said.
"But we did it in patches; we weren't all firing at one time, so we need the collective to be more consistent."
Off the field the Demons have had a much-needed facility overhaul with the completion of new nets that have added a pep to the step of pre-season training.
"We've got double the amount of nets (six) now than what we had, so it means guys have been able to always be really active and put them to good to use," Winter-Irving said.
SEASON FIXTURE:
ROUND 1 - November 13
v Strathfieldsaye (h)
............................................
ROUND 2 - November 20
v Strathdale (a)
............................................
ROUND 3 - November 27
v Huntly-North Epsom (h)
............................................
ROUND 4 - December 4
v Bendigo (a)
............................................
ROUND 5 - December 11
v Kangaroo Flat (h)
............................................
ROUND 6 - December 18
v Bendigo United (a)
............................................
ROUND 7 - January 8
v Eaglehawk (h)
............................................
ROUND 8 - January 15
v Golden Square (a)
............................................
ROUND 9 - January 22
v Sandhurst (h)
............................................
ROUND 10 - January 29
v Strathfieldsaye (a)
............................................
ROUND 11 - February 5
v Strathdale (h)
............................................
ROUND 12 - February 6
v Huntly-North Epsom (a)
............................................
ROUND 13 - February 12
v Bendigo (h)
............................................
ROUND 14 - February 19
v Kangaroo Flat (a)
............................................
ROUND 15 - February 26
v Bendigo United (h)
............................................
ROUND 16 - March 5
v Eaglehawk (a)
............................................
ROUND 17 - March 6
v Golden Square (h)
............................................
ROUND 18 - March 12
v Sandhurst (a)
LAST SEASON FLASHBACK:
Finished - 6th
Record - 6-9-3, 0.88%
Bat - 4th Ball - 8th
............................................
Leading run-scorers:
527 - Gavin Bowles
414 - Caleb Barras
311 - Mitch Winter-Irving
296 - Rhys Irwin
239 - Ollie Geary
............................................
Leading wicket-takers:
23 - Linc Jacobs
23 - Rhys Irwin
14 - Mitch Winter-Irving
11 - Gavin Bowles
11 - Nicholas Wallace
............................................
Leading MVP points:
821 - Rhys Irwin
767 - Gavin Bowles
626 - Mitch Winter-Irving
529 - Linc Jacobs
464 - Caleb Barras
HEAD-TO-HEAD RECORDS SINCE 2000:
v Bendigo
Won: 14 Lost: 16 Tied: 1
............................................
v Bendigo United
Won: 8 Lost: 21
............................................
v Eaglehawk
Won: 5 Lost: 21
............................................
v Golden Square
Won: 9 Lost: 18 Tied: 1
............................................
v Huntly-North Epsom
Won: 16 Lost: 12
............................................
v Kangaroo Flat
Won: 4 Lost: 20
............................................
v Sandhurst
Won: 17 Lost: 8
............................................
v Strathdale-Maristians
Won: 4 Lost: 21 Tied: 1
............................................
v Strathfieldsaye
Won: 17 Lost: 11
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