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BENDIGO
LAST SEASON:
Finished - 9th
Record - 4-11-3, 0.76%
Bat - 6th Ball - 10th
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Captain Nathan Fitzpatrick on:
What he expects will be the Goers' strength this season:
"We'll have plenty of options with the ball, so, hopefully we'll be able to restrict a bit better and bowl sides out. I think bowling will be our strength."
Last season's BDCA under-18 Bill Lienhop Award winner Nash Robinson stepping up to first XI level:
"He's a really exciting young talent who bats well and could potentially open the bowling as well... he has picked up a yard or two in the off-season and bowls with some reasonable wheels."
What assistant coach Chamodh Pathirana will provide the team:
"We'll look to bowl Chamodh first change and bat him in the top order. He can swing the ball around and is very smart with the way he goes about it."
Key ins - Waugh George, Bailey Goodwin.
Key outs - Shane Koop.
BENDIGO UNITED
LAST SEASON:
Finished - 8th
Record - 4-11-3, 0.69%
Bat - 10th Ball - 7th
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Captain Clayton Holmes on:
How will the Redbacks be suited to the one-day format this season:
"We think we've got a side that will be well suited to the one-day game and some good depth with probably 15 to pick from in terms of our A Grade side. And there's some really good kids coming through, so the future is looking bright for the club."
What is the starting point for improving on last season's four wins:
"Hopefully, with the players we've brought in we'll be able to share the workload with the bat and ball and there isn't as much pressure on guys like Riley Treloar to have to make runs every week.
"The talent is there and, hopefully, it can continue to grow and we can reap some rewards."
Key ins - Clayton Holmes, Zane Keighran, Steve Barrett, Tom Starr, Justin Slater.
Key outs - Tom Batters, Billy Quirk (injured).
EAGLEHAWK
LAST SEASON:
Finished - 3rd
Record - 8-8-4, 1.14%
Bat - 8th Ball - 1st
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Captain Nick Farley on:
Expectations going into 2021-22 following last season's preliminary final appearance:
"It's a young group we've got and I still think we're well and truly on the way up. We probably exceeded expectations last season and I'm really excited about where we're heading."
The prospect of the club's exciting crop of youngsters taking another step forward after exceeding expectation with last season's third-placed finish:
"We're looking forward to the continued development of guys like Angus Chisholm and Josh Williams and for Nash Viney and Ben Williams to be able to get some more opportunities.
"I'd like to think we'd be good enough to play finals again.
"Don't get me wrong, Cory Jacobs and Richard Tibbett are two pretty big losses for us, but I'd be disappointed if we don't play finals again."
Key ins: Matt Fitt back full-time.
Key outs: Cory Jacobs, Richard Tibbett.
GOLDEN SQUARE
LAST SEASON:
Finished - 10th
Record - 3-12-3, 0.81%
Bat - 9th Ball - 6th
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Captain Liam Smith on:
How the Bulldogs can improve after claiming a rare wooden spoon last season:
"It's a relatively young and inexperienced side we've got, but I feel that after getting so many games into our younger players last season I'm looking forward to seeing what they can do with a bit more expectation on them."
The importance of maintaining a consistent side given the regular changes that were made last season with 24 players used in the first XI:
"Hopefully, we can have more of a balanced line-up in terms of consistency.
"I still think there's probably four to five players in B grade who could step up to play A grade, but hopefully, we have players who can play consistently and well enough to cement their positions and we can be more settled. I definitely think we have a lot of potential to have an improved season."
Key ins - Connor Miller back from injury, Scott Ross.
Key outs - Grant Connelly.
HUNTLY-NORTH EPSOM
LAST SEASON:
Finished - 4th
Record - 11-5-3, 1.28%
Bat - 2nd Ball - 3rd
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Captain Elliott Massina on:
The increased focus on giving more opportunity to the club's younger players at first XI level:
"We're probably looking to promote a bit more youth this season with some good kids coming through the club. Judd Gilchrist is a really good young player; Abe Sladden wicket-kept in the final for us last season and did a terrific job; we've got Jack Wilson and Kyen Burrill-Grinton who are good young players as well.
"We probably haven't played enough of our kids over the past few years, so it's something we'll look to do a lot more of this season."
New recruit Pathum De Mel:
"Pat is an all-rounder who has captained Chelsea for three or four years and played at Moorooduc last season where he made the Mornington-Peninsula Team of the Year. He will bat in the middle-to-lower order and will bowl fairly early. He bowls some handy medium-pace, so he's a good pick-up for us."
Season expectations:
"Our aim is to play finals again and I think that would be our pass mark for this season. We're priding ourselves on putting ourselves consistently up amongst it each year and that's what we're aiming to do again."
Key ins - Pathum De Mel.
Key outs - Sandun Ranathunga.
KANGAROO FLAT
LAST SEASON:
Finished - 2nd
Record - 13-4-4, 1.26%
Bat - 3rd Ball - 4th
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Captain Chris Barber on:
How the disappointment of losing last season's grand final will drive the playing group in 2021-22:
"We've got a very experienced side and, importantly, it's a group that has played a lot of cricket together and we know what we all do well.
"We'll be a very similar side to last season.
"We were a team last season that had a lot of blokes chipping in with both bat and ball... we weren't reliant on just one or two players and that's what we'll be looking for again.
"We won a lot of close games last season and that experience will, hopefully, hold us in good stead again to try to go that one better."
Key ins - Dylan Achison, Kieren Burns.
Key outs - Lewis Stabler.
SANDHURST
LAST SEASON:
Finished - 7th
Record - 5-10-3, 0.76%
Bat - 5th Ball - 9th
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Coach Dylan Gibson on:
The Dragons' approach to putting their 2021-22 team together:
"We haven't gone out and tried to recruit four or five A grade cricketers to have a real tilt at trying to win it this season; what we're doing is continuing to focus on developing our kids.
"We think we've got a good group of guys who will be able to take us forward and play some really competitive cricket over the coming years. But we've got to give our young players the chance to blossom in those roles and we want to be able to repay the faith for the work they have been putting in."
The importance of captain Joel Murphy at the top of the order coming off a 2020-21 season in which he was the BDCA's joint Cricketer of the Year:
"Joel is only 24-years-old, still improving as a cricketer and is already one of the best opening batsmen in the region. He knows what he has to do to bat well and has a really good temperament; we're expecting another big year from him."
Key ins - Ash Gray after early end to last season.
Key outs - Will Keck (injured), Will Gadsden.
STRATHDALE-MARISTIANS
LAST SEASON:
Finished - Premiers
Record - 16-0-4, 1.89%
Bat - 1st Ball - 2nd
.............................................
Captain Cameron Taylor on:
The hunger among the older players in the group to remain the competition benchmark having been a powerhouse for so long:
"I think over the past few years us older guys are still well and truly contributing and we're not just hanging around to the detriment of the club.
"Hopefully, some of our knowledge and experience can rub off on our younger players who are going to maybe get some more opportunities than have been there in the past."
The availability of paceman Chris Sole, who has been part of Scotland's Twenty20 World Cup squad:
"It just depends on what it will involve for Soley in terms of coming back to Australia as to when he will be available... will he be better off waiting a bit longer so he might not have to do as big a quarantine perhaps. But he's coming back and will be raring to go."
Key ins - Shane Koop, Dylan Bailie, Jono Davidson.
Key outs - James Vlaeminck.
STRATHFIELDSAYE
LAST SEASON:
Finished - 5th
Record - 7-7-4, 1.00%
Bat - 7th Ball - 5th
.............................................
Captain Ben Devanny on:
New recruit Campbell Love from Warrnambool:
"Campbell bowls a bit above medium-pace and is a right-handed middle-order batsman. He is only young, but has played a lot of junior representative cricket with Darcy (Hunter) and Abe (Sheahan) and we think he will go well for us this season."
What the Jets have learned after spending most of last season in the top four before surrendering their spot in the final round:
"We had our chances last year to finish in the four... we lost some games that we had been in positions to win and didn't get there. Looking at our side, we're probably going to have five or six guys who will be 21 years or younger.
"Being another 12 months older doesn't help me, but for our younger guys like Cal McCarty, who batted No.3 last year, Jed Rodda, who took the new ball, and (leg-spinner) Darcy Hunter who took 20 wickets, they should all be better again."
Key ins - Tim Wood, Abe Sheahan, Campbell Love.
Key outs - Nayana Fernando, Zoltan Smyth, Mitch Cheesman.
WHITE HILLS
LAST SEASON:
Finished - 6th
Record - 6-9-3, 0.88%
Bat - 4th Ball - 8th
.............................................
Captain Mitch Winter-Irving on:
The need for an improved season with the ball after being ranked eighth last summer:
"Looking back to last season there were times we struggled with the ball. Rhys (Irwin) and Linc (Jacobs) 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 hasn't been a lot of change with us. 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."
Key ins - Jack Bourke, Sam Lowes.
Key outs - Tyrone Muir, Dylan Baillie, Tom Dunham.
ROUND 1 GAMES SATURDAY
White Hills v Strathfieldsaye
Sandhurst v Strathdale-Maristians
Golden Square v Huntly-North Epsom
Eaglehawk v Bendigo
Bendigo United v Kangaroo Flat
All games start 12.30pm.
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