By Marcus Uhe
BEACONSFIELD
2022-23 Finish: Premiers of Turf 2
Coach: Mark Cooper
Captain: Mark Cooper
Ins: Yohan Arumadura (Keysborough), Kevin Seth (HSD), Trishane De Silva.
Outs: Callan Tout (Narre South), Lachlan Ramage.
Players to watch: Riley Clark, Tyler Clark, Ashan Madushanka.
Home ground: Perc Allison Oval
Excitement is building at the Tigers ahead of entering the unknown of Turf 1 cricket.
The glittering run of the 2022-23 will be commemorated in a marquee Sunday time-slot on Sunday 15 October, a standalone fixture in which the club will unfurl the premiership flag when they battle Berwick in the customary ‘Battle of the Creek.’
But from there-on, eyes will be firmly fixed on the future.
Opening bowler Callan Tout has left the club for Turf 1 rivals Narre South and Lachlan Ramage had also moved on, but the core of the premiership side under Mark Cooper, including batters, Tyler and Riley Clark and Ashan Madushanka, are all keen to test themselves in the higher grade.
Heinz Southern Districts’ Kevin Seth will take the honours with the new ball in place of Tout, while fellow 2022/23 Turf 2 competitor Yohan Arumadura has joined the club Keysborough to strengthen the batting.
What the squad lacks in experience, Cooper is hoping can make up for with experience and enthusiasm.
“Learning the standard and trying to step up to that is going to be a real learning curve for us,” he said.
“Our aim is to be competitive for as long as possible in games, and then whatever the result is the result.
“Where we end up is where we end up, the odds are probably against us with the history of clubs going up and then going back down.
“I think it will take a while to get educated in that space, and then usually what happens is, the second time you play teams, you learn a bit more about them and how they go about it.
“It might take us a bit of time to learn that, but what we bring to the table is a bit of enthusiasm and youth, and you never know with those two elements.”
Both Narre Warren and Parkmore in previous seasons were unable to sustain their winning form from Turf 2 success in previous years, suffering the cruel fate of immediate relegation after just one season in the top competition.
Cooper is hoping that his side can buck the trend.
While there will be an element of playing with nothing to lose, Cooper is wary of not letting the players feel that there is nothing at all to play for, keen to strike the balance early in the piece.
“I think if you view it as a free hit, people may go and play a bit carefree,” Cooper said.
“It’s having that mentality of, we don’t try to make it that, and if we fall short, we fall short, but we’ll definitely try to take opportunities and learning when the opportunities arise, but also playing some pretty dour cricket at times.
“Learning that, I think, will definitely be our learning curve, particularly in the first half of the year, and against those clubs that are really experienced at Turf 1 level and know how to win games of cricket.”
Fixture:
Round 1 (one day): Saturday 7 October v St Mary’s (A)
Round 2 (one day): Sunday 15 October v Berwick (H)
Round 3 (two day): Saturday 21 and Sunday 22 October v Buckley Ridges (H)
Round 4 (two day): Saturday 28 October and Saturday 4 November v Narre South (A)
Round 5 (two day): Saturday 11 and 18 November v North Dandenong (A)
Round 6 (two day): Saturday 25 November and Saturday 2 December v Springvale South (H)
Round 7 (one day): Saturday 9 December v Hallam Kalora Park (H)
Round 8 (one day): Saturday 16 December v Buckley Ridges (A)
Round 9 (one day): Saturday 6 January v Narre South (H)
Round 10 (one day): Saturday 13 January v Springvale South (A)
Round 11 (two day): Saturday 20 and 27 January v St Mary’s (H)
Round 12 (two day): Saturday 3 and 10 February v Berwick (A)
Round 13 (two day): Saturday 17 and Sunday 18 February v Hallam Kalora Park (A)
Round 14 (one day): Saturday 24 February v North Dandenong (H)
