Tara Murray
An old coach provided the key in helping Altona North secure the services of James Wild for the next Victorian Turf Cricket Association division 1 season.
Having retired from Victorian Sub-District Cricket after 10 years, Wild was keen to continue on at a lower level.
Altona North announced that they had been able to secure the former Victorian Premier cricketer.
Altona North president Andrew Auciello is rapt to have Wild on board.
“James is a big one for us,” he said. “We’re really keen to have him on board.
“We had an old coach that went to Ormond and known him for the last five years. He had retired from Ormond, where he had been the last 10 years.
“He was looking and we had a chat and he liked what we had to offer.
“It matched up, it was good.”
Auciello said the signing of Wild was the biggest calibre signing they’d had for a long time.
He said that Wild wouldn’t have an official role at the club, they expected that he would naturally have a leadership role on field.
“We are a group of players in our 30s that are home grown and have played together,” he said.
“He’s a natural leader and him in the side is going to help everyone improve that 10 per cent.
“We’re not expecting him to go out and dominate.”
Altona North finished in fifth spot last season, a game outside the top four.
Auciello said they were hoping to build on last season.
“We brought in three players and had four players change from the year before,” he said.
“When you have changed the dynamic a little bit.
“The last six games we found out who blends where and once we found that we were really good towards the back end.
“We just missed out on finals. We tasted success a couple of years ago and won the grand final.
“That’s the ultimate dream and if we can all improve 10 per cent, we will hopefully improve by 10 per cent.”
