Coach says missing stars are spurring Cats on
GEELONG coach Andre Borovec says the absence of key players has spurred his side towards a long-awaited finals appearance.
The Cats have been dealt a host of setbacks in 2017-18, with star players unavailable due to higher honours.
But Borovec said the selection of captain Eamonn Vines for Victoria’s second XI, and the move of wicketkeeper batsman Tim Ludeman to the Melbourne Renegades, had only strengthened the resolve of the playing group.
Ludeman will be unavailable until early February when the Big Bash League ends, but Vines will continue on with the Cats after making a bucketload of runs pre-Christmas.
Josh McDonald returns from a one-game suspension and will take the gloves in place of Jack Rodgers, who filled the void in the win against Monash Tigers.
Borovec is confident the top order will perform in today’s clash against 14th-placed Camberwell.
“The batting order is still hungry,” Borovec said.
“Vinesy has proved he is a hungry batsman, he loves making runs, and we’ve got some guys that would be the first to admit they haven’t got the runs they would have liked in the first half of the season.
“And I think that’s a positive because we’ve still been able to win games of cricket. We’re in a good position, and the beauty of this format is we’ve got more time.
“It really gives the guys a chance to build an innings and do all the things that lean towards making big scores.
“We’re still really confident that we’ve got the top seven that will do a really good job.”
McDonald has not played cricket in more than a month, having missed the two-day match prior to the Christmas break. But Borovec has backed the explosive batsman’s preparation.
“His form with the gloves last season was outstanding, and to his credit, he’s main- tained his form at training,” Borovec said.
“We were expecting Tim to be away since the start of the season, so it was a real priority for him at training and he’ll be looking forward to getting in the game now and we’re lucky we’ve got that depth.”
Camberwell went down to Dandenong, St Kilda and Essendon in a horror run prior to Christmas but Borovec remains wary of the Magpies.
“They’re a good outfit and they play their ground well,” he said.
“They’ve got a potent attack with a couple of left-armers (Will Walker and Matt Whittaker) who move it, so the preparation for our top order has been around that.”