MARONG coach David Blume is expecting 2021-22 in the Emu Valley Cricket Association to be a season of development for the Panthers.
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The Panthers have lost a chunk of experience from last season's side that finished fifth following the departures of Scott Ross, Duane Anderson and Chris Dixon.
Ross' move into Golden Square leaves the Panthers needing to find a new opening batsman and wicket-keeper, with Ross departing Marong having scored the second most runs in the EVCA since 2006 with 4438 behind only West Bendigo's Travis O'Connell (4472).
"We've lost some good talent with Scott, Duane and Chris, but we'll just be looking to improve on what we did last season," Blume said.
"We also see it as a year of development given we've lost some experience and a chance to give some younger players some opportunities.
"Tristan Rowe, Reuben Cameron and James Toomey are all good young players at the club and we've got Axel Kerr coming back from Maiden Gully, who looks to have improved."
With the departure of veteran Ross, Mark Blume will take over as Marong's wicket-keeper.
The Panthers' bowling unit will be based around a core of last season's leading wicket-taker Jayden Laubsch, former captain Tom Wilson, Amarpreet Singh, Blume and Alex Gorrie.
Gorrie has taken over from Blume as captain of the Panthers for what will be his second season at the club after crossing from Maiden Gully.
"Alex has some really good experience... he's captained Maiden Gully and has really strong leadership," Blume said.
"We think he's the right person for the job and is coming off a good year with us last season."
Gorrie combined 238 runs with 14 wickets for the Panthers last season and amassed 578 Addy MVP points behind only Blume's 634.
"The boys are all really looking forward to the season getting started," said Blume, who is headed into his third season at the Panthers and has scored 847 runs since joining the club in 2019-20.
"Being my first year of coaching, I'm excited about the challenge ahead."
The Panthers are enduring what is the EVCA's longest division one finals drought.
Marong hasn't made the finals since 2011-12 when it lost a semi-final to United.
The Panthers face a tough first-up assignment in round one when they host perennial power United at Malone Park on November 13.
"We're straight into the deep end, but we haven't gone too bad against United the past couple of years," Blume said.
"It's a great challenge to start the season off with... you always know where you're at when you play United, so we'll be ready to give it our best shot."
SEASON FIXTURE:
ROUND 1 - November 13
v United (h)
............................................
ROUND 2 - November 20
v California Gully (a)
............................................
ROUND 3 - November 27
v Mandurang (h)
............................................
ROUND 4 - December 4
v West Bendigo (h)
............................................
ROUND 5 - December 11
v Axe Creek (a)
............................................
ROUND 6 - December 18
v Sedgwick (a)
............................................
ROUND 7 - January 8
v Spring Gully (a)
............................................
ROUND 8 - January 15
Bye
............................................
ROUND 9 - January 22
v Emu Creek (h)
............................................
ROUND 10 - January 29
v United (a)
............................................
ROUND 11 - February 5
v California Gully (h)
............................................
ROUND 12 - February 12
v Mandurang (a)
............................................
ROUND 13 - February 19
v Axe Creek (h)
............................................
ROUND 14 - February 26
v Sedgwick (h)
............................................
ROUND 15 - March 5
v Spring Gully (h)
............................................
ROUND 16 - March 12
Bye
LAST SEASON FLASHBACK:
Finished - 5th
Record - 6-7-3, 1.07%
Batting rank - 5th.
Bowling rank - 4th.
............................................
Leading run-scorers:
344 - David Blume
281 - Chris Dixon
271 - Duane Anderson
238 - Alex Gorrie
220 - Scott Ross
177 - Andrew Gladstone
............................................
Leading wicket-takers:
19 - Jayden Laubsch
17 - Nathan Green
14 - Alex Gorrie
11 - David Blume
8 - Duane Anderson
8 - Tom Wilson
............................................
Leading MVP points:
634 - David Blume
578 - Alex Gorrie
461 - Duane Anderson
437 - Jayden Laubsch
386 - Nathan Green
345 - Scott Ross
HEAD-TO-HEAD RECORDS SINCE 2006:
v Axe Creek
Won: 9 Lost: 4
............................................
v Emu Creek
Won: 5 Lost: 7
............................................
v California Gully
Won: 11 Lost: 4
............................................
v Mandurang
Won: 6 Lost: 12
............................................
v Sedgwick
Won: 9 Lost: 9
............................................
v Spring Gully
Won: 5 Lost: 10
............................................
v United
Won: 4 Lost: 15 Tied: 1
............................................
v West Bendigo
Won: 5 Lost: 8 Tied: 1
MORE 2021-22 TEAM PREVIEWS:
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