West Newport is a new arrival to Victorian Turf Cricket Association west B1, but plans are already in place for a quick escape.
The Lions left the Williamstown and District Cricket Association at the end of last summer in search of greener pastures, but have found the level of competition in the lower reaches of the VTCA quite similar to what they experienced back in the local league.
Lions secretary Mick Jones said the standard of the club’s new competition was “on a par” with that of the previous year.
“We don’t get umpires every week either,” he said.
“We’ve got to try and win in the first couple of years to get out of those grades and get a bit higher in the competition.”
The Lions have a deeper squad to choose from this season.
There are upwards of 20 players who can step into the first XI in any given week – and that’s a good headache for chairman of selectors Paul McGowan to have.
“We’ve probably got a better side than what we had last year but we’re still adjusting to the different style of cricket,” Jones said.
“There’s heaps better depth – blokes [are] missing out on the firsts now. If you don’t perform, you’ll be back in the seconds for a while.”
The Lions reached the grand final in their last season in WDCA A-turf, but were cruelly denied a shot at a premiership after the pitch was tampered, with West Newport one wicket from glory in the game against Grand United.
This year’s side has all the attributes to right that wrong and challenge in its first season in VTCA west B1.
The Lions have a strong leadership structure, with Ross Cassidy as coach and Trent Jones a developing captain, and have added a quality all-rounder, Josh Macdonald, to their list.
“There’s a lot of strong teams but we’re pretty confident we can go that one step better,” Jones said.
“Even though it’s a young group, we’ve got the experience now.”
Meanwhile, Lions bowler Ali Malik has defied the odds to produce what is likely to be a once-in-a-lifetime effort with the ball.
Playing in west B2, Malik took an incredible five wickets in five balls against Barkly Street Uniting.
Malik’s wicket sequence was bowled, bowled, lbw, bowled and bowled – all unassisted.
The lbw must have been plum as it was given out by a club umpire from the opposition.
“I’ve never seen it before in my life,” Jones said of Malik’s feat.
“The boys went off – we were pretty excited. It was magnificent.”
