By Marcus Uhe
Three years of frustration at the failure to shatter the glass ceiling hanging above the snake pit has led to some practical changes in how to approach the upcoming Dandenong District Cricket Association Turf 2 season for HSD.
Since dropping from Turf 1 at the end of the 2020/21 season, the Cobras have been perennial contenders but failed to achieve the ultimate prize on the final day of the season.
They lost a thrilling grand final to Parkmore in the 2021/22 decider but didn’t come as close in the last two seasons, upset in semi finals despite finishing the home-and-away seasons in the top two on both occasions.
As a result, Craig Hookey and the Cobras have implemented some changes during preseason in order to avoid petering out before it matters the most.
Sri Lankan left-armer Sakuntha Liyanage has been drafted in to be the club’s front line spin bowler in an effort to take some responsibility off the shoulders of Gartside Medallist Triyan de Silva and Ryan Patterson, as will quick Jawed Hussaini, who brings Turf 1 experience from his time at Narre South, and the opportunity to showcase more of his batting talent than he did at his previous home.
There’s a hope that a shorter preseason than previous years will prevent the players from running out of steam, while a flexible approach to selection will allow for some experimentation in finding the right combinations.
“Everyone says you’ve got to pick your best team for round one but it’s not about where you start, it might be about where you finish,” Hookey said.
“A lot of the time, where people start isn’t exactly where they finish, so we need to embrace and encourage that.
“Someone might start at eight and end up at the top of the order – that’s traditionally how season’s have gone for us in the past.
“We might tinker with a few things early and lose a few games early, so be it; at the end of the day, we want to be there on the last day in March and not dwindle-out before then.
“In the past we’ve kind of gone bull-at-a-gate from round one and we’ve traditionally played our best cricket in January, so we’re structuring our program to allow us to play our best cricket in February/March is something that we’re really trying to do.”
Reflecting on the club’s 2023/24 season is impossible without considering the success of the T20 side in reaching the competition’s final against Springvale South, when the glittering combination of Brett Forysth and Jordan Wyatt proved too strong to overcome.
The Cobras gave a terrific account of themselves and dropped a handful of critical catches that could have swung the outcome of the 38-run loss, while comprehensively defeating then-Turf 1 club St Mary’s by nine wickets in the semi final.
It’s a result that elicits pride for Hookey and his side, and offers something to build upon in the upcoming summer with an eye to returning to Turf 1.
“We ultimately walked away from that grand final disappointed – we think we should have won it and we think we got ourselves in a position to win it,” he said.
“We’re going to learn from that, we have spoken about it, that we can take on these bigger clubs.
“We’ve had pretty much the same group for three years, going into our fourth year we’re just adding bits and pieces along the way.
“We haven’t had wholesale change, so ultimately our boys should be experienced when push comes to shove.”
