Duo back in the fold
OLD FACES HARVEY AND MARRIOTT ARE WELCOMED ALONG WITH AUSSIE TEENAGER FATOUROS The Mote
Former captain Tom Harvey is one of two old faces back at The Mote this summer.
All-rounder Harvey returns after three seasons at Division 1 rivals Linden Park, while batsman James Marriott has rejoined from Gravesend.
Skipper Alex Fordham said: “Tom and James are good additions.
“Tom coming back isn’t really a surprise. He’s got two young kids, he’s friends with a lot of people at the club,and so is his wife.
“He wanted to come back, which is great for us.
“James is probably mid-30s now but he’s a quality player and a good fielder.
“He’d played for The Mote since he was young before going to Gravesend for a while.”
The Mote, who start the season at relegated Folkestone tomorrow (Saturday), also welcome a new overseas player in Australian teenager Geremy Fatouros.
Fordham added: “He’s only 18 but he’s been playing first-grade cricket in Perth and we have high hopes for him.
“He’s a batting all-rounder. He was recommended by the ex-captain at Sevenoaks Vine, Tom Parsons, and also by Simon Willis at Kent.”
A run of six wins in the second half of last season saw The Mote climb from the bottom two to second place, only to miss out on a Premier League return when they lost to eventual champions Dartford on the final day.
There are no promotion predictions from captain Alex Fordham, who missed the end of last season with a broken thumb, although they look well equipped to compete in the new win-lose format.
Fordham said: “We’re shaping up OK and hopefully with the squad we’ve got, we can go into the season with confidence.
“We’ve got four or five match-winners now, which we’ve not had in the last two or three years but we’ve also got a squad, which you need in any sport.
“It’s difficult to know who’s going to be strong because sides change season to season in league cricket.
“All we can do concentrate on us and take it game by game.”
It’s a big year for last season’s main man, opener Matt White, who scored 864 runs league runs at an average of 72.
Fordham said: “I hope he can build on that – he will do well to match the runs he scored. It’s like a footballer scoring 25 goals for the first time, it’s not so easy to do it again.
“But he’s matured as a batsman over the last two or three years, he’s a big player and having Tom Harvey back should take the pressure off him.” is