GEELONG CRICKET SEARCHES FOR QUICK FIX:
GEELONG IN PURSUIT OF QUICK DU0
GEELONG is in the market for interstate quicks Jack Prestwidge and Simon Mackin to bolster its pace attack.
New Cats coach Nick Speak said the club would target the duo, who have expressed a desire to find homes in Premier Cricket.
Queensland and Brisbane Heat quick Prestwidge is seeking opportunities with Victoria, while West Australian Mackin also hopes to land a contract as Peter Siddle and Chris Tremain are poised to depart.
Prestwidge and Mackin will have no shortage of suitors on the Premier scene, with Speak hopeful of landing a prized signature in the coming weeks.
“Prestwidge is on the table from Queensland and Mackin from WA, so we’ll be pitching to those two, probably less so to Prestwidge and more so to Mackin,” Speak said.
“We are looking for a quick bowler and we’ve got two here from interstate.
“To get someone to come to Geelong, it is difficult, but we’re definitely looking at interstate prospects.”
Signing a one-year deal with the Cats last month, Speak identified pace as an area of concern for the club, which was hurt by the departure of Jake Reed last summer.
“I think every club is looking for guys who bowl with real good ball speed,” Speak said.
“(Brody) Couch can do that and ( Dom) McGlinchey is solid, but there probably needs to be one more. Ideally, Couch should bowl first change. He’s your third guy, really.
“From a recruiting point of view, that’s what we need.
“For three or four weeks now, I’ve been talking to people and looking, but they don’t fall off trees.
“So that’s one area. I think spin is pretty well served and the batting looks deep to me, but a quick bowler would round us out pretty well.
“I think every club in the comp would be looking for someone to bowl 135km/h and take 30-35 wickets and that’s what we’re looking for.”
After coming agonisingly close to its maiden first XI title in 2018-19, Geelong slipped to 13th on the ladder, struggling to overcome the loss of Reed and retired champion leg-spinner Brenton McDonald.
“A lot of wind went out of the sails, some serious firepower went out,” Speak said.
“McDonald … I was with him at Melbourne when we won the flag and he was a big out and so was Jake Reed. It was a pretty good effort from the club without those two.
“We should have played finals anyway, but we fell in a hole at the back end of the season. That’s just experience and a bit of fatigue, I think.
“But if you look at the games, there was no way we should have lost four of those games.”