Last season: Third (runners-up)
Ins: Scott Neeson.
Outs: Glenn Finkelde (Dandenong), Stuart Mack (Prahran).
BRIDESMAIDS to Berwick last season, North Dandenong hasn’t tried to reinvent the wheel over winter.
Glenn Finkelde has moved across to Dandenong to further his coaching aspirations, paving the way for David Bell to return as playing-coach for North this summer.
Bell will guide the ship with skipper Adrian Baltruschaitis, and the club is delighted to have last season’s recruits Carmen Mapatuna and Chris Clarke back at Lois Twohig Reserve.
Sri Lankan all-rounder Mapatuna averaged 48 with the bat and claimed 11 wickets last season, while Clarke battled injury before starring with the ball in the last few games.
Scott Neeson has returned from overseas to bolster the bowling stocks, while Bell is also expecting to promote a few youngsters – look for Javed Khan, Craig Leonard and Blair Reynolds – during the summer.
“Our bowling should be pretty solid, but I think our depth will be our main strength,” Bell said.
“We’re pretty strong right through the order.”
North Dandenong is expected to figure prominently in the finals again.
Springvale South
Last season: Second (semi-finalist)
Ins: Suranjith Silva (Sri Lanka), Michael Davies (HSD), Glenn Scales (Dandenong West), Rory Ingram (Lyndale), Roshan Pereira (Hastings).
Outs: Danny Law (Williamstown CYMS), Sam Delaney (Somerville), Bobby Gray (Seaford).
LOSING semi-finalists last season, Springvale South has made a number of changes to its lineup in an effort to reclaim the premiership from Berwick this year.
The club picked up five players and lost three during the off-season, and president Kevin Murphy said the squad was stronger than last year’s.
“On paper it is probably a slight improvement, but we’ve lost Danny Law who’s regarded as one of the best cricketers the DDCA has ever had, so it’ll be tough to make up for him,” he said.
“But certainly on paper we’ve got a stronger batting lineup.”
“We’ve got Michael Davies from HSD and he was the captain of the DDCA under-21 team.
“He’s an all-rounder so he’ll be a handy pickup for us.
“We’ve got a Sri Lankan coming out by the name of Suranjith Silva, and he’s played over 100 first class games and taken over 350 first class wickets, and he’s sort of a fast leg-spinner, so he’ll be a good pickup for us as well.”
Gun batsman Craig Slocombe will take up the captaincy and coaching duties again this season.
Parkfield
Last season: Fourth (semi-finalist)
Ins: Ryan Pitts (Upwey), Mark Butters (Ferntree Gully).
Outs: Grant Milnes.
AFTER making the semi-finals last season, Parkfield is aiming for a similar finish in 2008/09.
Two new players have joined the club, with Ryan Pitts coming across from Upwey and Mark Butters from Ferntree Gully.
Pitts will join the top-order batting lineup while Butters will open the bowling.
Club president Tony Payne spoke highly of the new recruits.
“They’re both well-respected in their competition and have been good players for a number of years,” he said.
Payne said the club had some good players coming through the ranks.
“We had some kids come out of our juniors a few years ago that played Turf 1 last year, and they’re going to develop further this year.”
He said he expected young bowlers Stephen Cannon and Joseph McLelland to step up this year.
Buckley Ridges
Last season: Sixth
Ins: Will Butler (England), Channa Gunawardena (Keysborough), Johan Brohier (Dandenong), Jamie Brohier (Dandenong), Abas Faizo (Dandenong).
Outs: Steve Pennock (England).
BUCKLEY Ridges finished three points outside the four last summer, but nothing less than a finals berth will be acceptable this season.
New captain-coach Will Butler has been the key acquisition over the winter, filling the void left by Englishman Alex Roberts – who broke Ridges’ heart with an eleventh-hour decision to return to Berwick.
Butler is a South African all-rounder, who has been playing minor county cricket in England, and he only arrived in town this week.
He’ll bat number three and hopefully hoop the ball around as a first-change bowler.
Ridges will also be bolstered by the return of teenage stars – and former juniors – Johan and Jamie Brohier from Dandenong.
Channa Gunawardena has come back to open the bowling after taking 47 wickets for Keysborough last summer, and he will receive some assistance from ex-Dandenong fast-bowler Abas Faizo.
Ridges vice-president Chris Rattle is expecting big things.
“We missed out last year when we should have made the finals, and we believe we’ve got a better team than last year,” he said.
Keysborough
Last season: Eighth
Ins: Jeremy Roscoe (Waverley), Michael Rengarajah (Hawthorn/Monash), Kevin Baker (North Balwyn), Surad Utterman (Cavaliers)
Outs: Chanika Gunawardana (Mount Waverley), Chana Gunawardana (Buckley Ridges).
KEYSBOROUGH might have finished eighth last season, but captain/coach Paul McDonald thinks his side can go top-four in 2008/09.
The Burra have picked up two new opening bowlers in Michael Rengarajah and Kevin Baker, and expectations are high for the coming season.
Nalin Wijesinghe is back for his first full season after joining the team mid-way through 2007/08, where he averaged 64 in his six Turf 1 matches.
McDonald said his side’s good form at the end of last season would help in the push for finals.
“We won the last two games last year, and we think that momentum should get us through to win six or seven this year,” he said.
“We’re obviously aiming for top four, we’re not so optimistic that we’re aiming for top spot, Berwick’s going to take that, but top four, that’s where we’re heading.”
With Rengarajah and Baker on board, McDonald said there was no doubting where his team’s strength lay.
“Our strength is definitely our opening bowling attack, it’s good, we’ve got two really class opening bowlers.”
St. Mary’s
Last season: Tenth
Ins: Dan Davis (England), Mark Schonewille.
Outs: Jake Needham, Emmanuel Coomaraswamy.
THE Saints are another team that will be relying on improvement from within to scale the Turf One ladder this season.
While young Englishman Dan Davis has arrived to bolster the batting, the onus will again fall on the likes of veteran Troy Cashman to provide the match-winning innings.
Skipper, opener and gloveman Scott Atkinson averaged just 15 with the bat after arriving at Carroll Reserve last summer, so he will have a point to prove.
St Mary’s will be without two of its main strike bowlers from last season.
Emmanuel Coomaraswamy has departed due to work commitments and boom English recruit Jake Needham’s return was blocked by his county club.
Saints president Vince Haining said the club has chosen to stick to its policy of promoting young stars instead of recruiting aggressively.
“Our philosophy is about developing from within to a large extent, and we believe we’ll be very competitive this season,” Haining said.
Coomoora
Last season: Eleventh.
Ins: Manoja Hettiarachi (Ferntree Gully)
Outs: Rohan Paulpillai, Jamie Saleem, Carlos Hereford.
COOMOORA narrowly avoided relegation in their return to Turf One last season, but the loss of some key contributors will make it difficult to do the same this summer.
Playing-coach Rohan Paulpillai has stepped aside because of injury, leaving all-rounder Rizan Mawzoon to take the helm.
The loss of Paulpillai will hurt the top-order, while departing bowlers Carlos Hereford and Jamie Saleem will also be missed.
Manoja Hettiarachi has arrived to take on the wicket-keeping duties, but the Roos will again rely the likes of opener Matt Wenke and strike bowlers Mawzoon and Dillon Fernandesz to secure the majority of their points.
If the Roos can hold their ground this summer it will be a victory of sorts.
