By Marcus Uhe
The success of Beaconsfield Cricket Club in last season’s Dandenong District Cricket Association Turf 1 competition has shown that staying in the association’s top flight is now a realistic target to aim for, according to Dandenong West captain coach Anthony Brannan.
The man who steered the Bulls to a remarkable pair of back-to-back premierships in the last two seasons in a stunning climb up the grades is preparing to lead the Bulls in a new frontier at the league’s highest level, reaching the tail end of a long preseason at the Dandenong Showgrounds.
Every member of the premiership-winning XI from last summer is back to continue the ascension, and with the addition of an experienced batter in Don Pulukkuttiarachchi, the club appears set to bank on continuity and growth to cause headaches in Turf 1 cricket.
While the challenge stares them in the face, Brannan said the club has “taken confidence” in what the Tigers showed is possible, defying history by remaining in Turf 1 after winning Turf 2 in 2022/23.
“We feel like the gap has closed slightly over the last couple of years,” Brannan said of the margin between the divisions.
“Even the year before with Parkmore nearly beating Springvale South, they probably should have beaten Springvale South in that last game, and they fell out because of that.
“We’ve, over the last couple of years, recruited for an attack on Turf 1 in terms of (Nuwan) Kulasekara, (Malinga) Bandara, they’re still going to be really good players and they’re class players in terms of Turf 1.
“We’re not going into the season saying that we’re going to win premierships or anything like that, and we don’t have expectations on what we’re going to be able to achieve – there’s no ceiling, but we’re definitely in it to stay.
“We’re not looking to bounce around (between) Turf 1 and Turf 2, we’re looking to stay in Turf 1, and we’ve got full belief that we can do that.”
Closing the gap between their best and their worst will be the key for the Bulls, having prevailed in a series of close games on their way to premiership glory last summer.
Losses to Parkmore and Cranbourne – two sides that finished outside the established ‘top three’ of Turf 2 last season – are performances that will not cut the mustard in the higher level.
“We probably got out of some games where we didn’t play as well and we’re well aware that, going into Turf 1, you’re not going to win games of cricket that you’re not going to play well in,” Brannan said.
“That consistency across the board with our effort and discipline will be key.
“Last year we let a few sides off with a couple of chances we created not sticking, and we understand that if you’re bowling to a Jordan Wyatt or Jake Hancock, you’ve got to take those chances to make sure you’re in the game because if you don’t, those kind of blokes will really hurt you.”
The Bulls will be thrown into the deep end with a trip to Park Oval to open the season against reigning premier, Buckley Ridges, before tackling Berwick and Springvale South in the next fortnight.
