Rory takes positives from lockdown

Perth Doo’cot Cricket Club captain Rory Pennycook is using the lack of competitive league action to plan for future success.

League and cup games for 2020 have been cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, although inter-club matches have been allowed to start.

Pennycook was primed to skipper Perth into battle and, while the lack of competitive action is disappointing, he is turning it into a positive.

“Captaining is something I was really looking forward to this year,” said Pennycook.

“I’ve been at the club since its inception and it’s a club I feel passionately about.

“So to be elected as the 1st XI captain was an honour.

“Having been vice-captain last year, and captain of the Sunday team, it’s something I’ve been preparing for and feel I’m suitably prepared for the challenges ahead.

“My plans for the coming weeks and months are simply to win games and get ourselves set for a title challenge next season.

“There’s not a lot else we can do at the moment.

“I’m in the lucky position of having nearly a year to evaluate everything, work on everything that needs to be worked on and get an idea of what my strongest XI is.

“I feel like we’ve recruited well over the lockdown period, and have added quality in all areas to an already strong team.”

Perth players returned to the Doo’cot Park field at the weekend for an inter-club match against Strathmore, having the week prior played Meigle in a friendly.

“I’ve been really impressed by everyone’s attitude since coming back,” added Pennycook.

“It was a huge relief to get back to nets, we had spent nearly five months waiting for it.

“It was great to see so many people booking in sessions.

“Then the game against Meigle was a real positive for the club.

“Being our first game back and picking up a win with so many young players playing their part was really pleasing to see.

“The Strathmore game however, was a mixed bag. I felt like we bowled well, especially given the length of time we’ve been away.

“We have a great mixture of youth, talent and experience in our bowling attack, which really excites me going forward. But our batting wasn’t up to scratch.

“That’s something we’ll work on over the next few weeks, and with a couple of key batsmen to come back in, will hopefully improve on.”