Poor weatherworry for premier season start
GEELONG premier cricket coach Nick Speak concedes his side has not had the best preseason preparation as the season edges closer.
The Cats are due to begin their season on October 1 against Greenvale, with last year’s finalists hoping to do better than a first-week exit.
But Speak said the side had “barely trained” on turf this pre-season.
“We’ve not really got outside for training yet, the weather has been a bit poor to start the season,” he said.
“We only practised on turf for the first time this week, and even then there was only two wickets available and they weren’t great.
“I’d be very surprised if we go ahead round 1.
“I think it’s highly likely the two-day game will be changed to a one-day game, just because it’s been so wet.”
Geelong will be without star middle-order batter Angus Boyd, who moved to Sydney in September for work.
Boyd made 319 runs in 11 first-grade innings, including 78 in the elimination final against Richmond.
“Angus Boyd is one we’ll miss … but apart from him, we’ve not lost a whole lot,” Speak said.
“We’ve got Meyrick Buchanan coming back in to join us again after a year off cricket and then playing in Melbourne for a bit before that.
“Meyrick is not exactly a like-for-like with Angus, but I think that covers Angus off a bit.
“We also have a few good young kids coming through, so our team is looking all right.”
Speak expects Liam Blackford, Oliver Peake and Henry Melville to continue their development in 2023.
“Liam Blackford … made really good strides last year and will hopefully have another good season,” he said.
“Oliver Peake and Henry Melville have commitments at Geelong Grammar this year so we won’t see a whole lot of them all the time.
“Harry Hauenstein is another who should find his way into the seconds and we expect him to be a good player for Geelong.”