Tara Murray
Footscray United isn’t moving into the Victorian Turf Cricket Association division 2 competition quietly, having signed former West Indian international Daren Ganga for next season.
The club announced on Sunday that Ganga had committed to the club in a massive boost for it and the competition.
Ganga, now 43, played 48 test matches for the West Indies, along with 35 one-day internationals and one T20 match.
He made back-to-back centuries against Australia during his career.
“Daren’s attitude towards local cricket and developing cricket in the area as well as bringing the cricket events to the community has really impressed us and we cannot wait to announce some exciting events and cricket programs in the very near future,” the post said.
United captain-coach Shafraz Mohamed said this was one of the biggest signings in the whole VTCA.
“It has been a work in progress. I’ve known him for a couple of years,” he said.
“He lives two streets from our ground. We brought him down to the club and he saw what direction the club has been going the last couple of years.
“He’s now relocating fully to Australia. For us to get a full season out of him is massive.
“We’ve seen him in the nets and it blew us all away. We thought, that is what a 48 test player looks like.”
Mohamed said Ganga shared their vision for the future to help the club continue through the ranks into senior division.
As well as playing for Footscray United, Ganga will run his cricket academy in the area.
Mohamed said he hoped it would get more kids into the sport.
“He will set up base camp location out of Footscray United.
“There’s a lot of young kids who want to play sport, but that’s been neglected. The main aim is to get kids passionate about the game and it’s a great initiative for the local club to learn from him.”
The club has also signed Nilanka Premaratne, who has played for Sri Lanka A.
They are set to announce another signing in the coming weeks.
Mohamed said they were keen to have an impact in division 2 after winning the division 3 premiership last season.
“I think we will give it a good shake this year,” he said.
“We don’t want to come up and survive. I have played in the senior competition with Keilor and I want this club to look like that.”
Tara Murray
