Altona has an exciting blend of youth, experience and a genuine star in its bid to be a factor in the Victorian Sub-District Cricket Association this season.
PICTURE GALLERY: Altona v Melton
The A’s will be desperate to avoid the same fate they suffered last season when rain ruined their finals campaign, leading to a quarter-final exit.
They will not only be pressing hard to secure a finals berth but also an all-important home final to avoid being susceptible to the weather again, come March.
“We’re definitely looking to improve this year,” A’s second-year captain Shane Jones told Star Weekly.
“The young guys in the team are a year older, a year stronger and getting more experience every week, so that really helps the cause.
“Obviously finals is where we want to be, but getting a home final is also important.”
For the A’s to become a genuine premiership contender, they need to find some run support for out-and-out star Aaron Maynard.
Maynard was magnificent last season, with 810 runs at 81, but too often he had little help from teammates plagued with inconsistency.
The No.3 was at it again on Saturday, with a brilliant 123 as the A’s posted 9-205 from 80 overs on day one of their clash with Melton at the Frank Kirk Oval.
The next-top-scorer was Josh Young with 24, and the rest of the scorecard was littered with starts and failures, meaning the A’s didn’t bludgeon Melton out of the contest.
“We’re looking for the batsmen to put their hand up a bit more and take on more responsibility to take the pressure off Aaron,” Jones said.
The A’s are building a bright future with the drip-feed of youngsters into the line-up. James Grubb is undoubtedly the pick of the bunch.
“He’s a genuine all-rounder, batting six this year, and one of our strike bowlers,” Jones said.
“Even from the second half of last season, he was probably our best bowler, to be honest.”
Dylan Appleby, who played in the under-17s in the morning and backed up for the firsts in the afternoon, showed a glimpse, with a third- top score of 15. Jake Duff is an up-and-coming fast bowler, and batsman James Hicks made his debut in the ones on Saturday.
These names should be at the forefront for years to come.
The A’s are not throwing these youngsters into the deep end, giving them games on merit and providing them with strong support, starting with coach Mark Mitchell, assistant coach Craig Duff and the array of players on the list with Premier Cricket experience.
“The club has worked really hard on the junior development,” Jones said.
“The time we’ve put into the kids in the last three years is really coming to fruition right now.
“We’re all about developing players at Altona and we’ll always give opportunities to guys when they deserve it.
“We’ve got a good balance between experience and young guys coming through.”
