Saints buoyed by new arrivals
WITH THESE RECRUITS, I WOULD GO ON RECORD WITH SAYING THAT FINALS IS PROBABLY A MINIMUM.”
FINALS is a pass mark for Guild-St Mary’s this season after landing a haul of talented players.
Skipper Mike Norris crossed to GCA3 rival St Albans-Breakwater and key batsman Praveen Mathivanan has headed home to India but the losses have been offset by five inclusions, led by star quick Dhanuja Nandana.
The paceman claimed 23 wickets at 14 for St Peters in GCA2 last season and snared 39 GCA1 wickets across two summers for South Barwon previously as one of the finer pacemen in local cricket.
He will be joined at the Saints by Amrit Chhina (East Belmont), Justin Larkins (North Shore) and Kyle Clark (Stoneyford, Colac and District Cricket Association).
Clark played three games for the Saints in the seconds last season, belting 140 runs, including scores of 76 and 58 not out.
The Saints are also excited about batsman Anand Choudhary, who played a handful of First XI games for Brunswick in Sub-District cricket last summer. Choudhary is set to slot in an No. 4 for Guild-St Mary’s after making 239 runs at 21.7 across the grades last season under the tutelage of coach Clint Mackay.
Guild-St Mary’s is hopeful of locking in a further couple of recruits to start the season.
After starting brightly and winning three of their first four matches last season, the Saints only claimed two more victories over the summer and finished the season in last spot on the ladder.
But vice-president Kevin O’Leary is more than confident his side can rise quickly in what shapes to be a wide-open year in GCA3.
“We earmarked that if we can get four or five players in, we think it could push us to the to four quite easily, that’s how even GCA3 is,” he said.
“With these recruits, I would go on record with saying that finals is probably a minimum.”