St Albans believes it has all bases covered as it aims to return to finals in the Victorian Turf Cricket Association senior division.
The Saints were in the finals mix until the final round, before a loss resulted in them finishing in seventh spot.
New Saints captain-coach Shafraz Mohammed said the pre-season had been really good.
“It’s not long now, the season starts in a couple of weeks,” he said. “We’ve done everything we can and had a really good pre-season.
“We’ve done a lot of fitness work and had a couple of practice games. I’m very happy with it.”
The Saints have added in four players to last season’s squad, with just one departure.
Mohammed will play a key role for the Saints with the ball this season, having helped his previous side, Footscray United, to two straight premierships.
Ashen Abeykoon joins Mohammed in crossing from Footscray United. He has been named in two VTCA teams of the year and took 40 wickets in the 21-22 season.
Akila Ishanka joins the club from St Andrews and has been one of the top players in the competition, being named in the VTCA teams of the year five times.
The other signing is Nils Priestley.
He’s headed down under this Summer in sensational form, having played in England where he made 147 not out from 66 balls in a T20 match.
On the other side, the Saints have lost Geeth Alwis to Westmeadows.
Mohammed said while Alwis is a big loss, they felt like they had more than replaced him.
“It’s hard losing someone with that experience,” he said. “We have covered his loss with what we have picked up.
“We think we have everything covered.”
The Saints season will get underway on October 7, but the fixture has yet to be confirmed.
Mohammed said he was hoping to continue his good record of recent seasons at his club.
“Nothing short of making finals for me,” he said. “I’ve made finals the last three years and won two flats.
“Hopefully I can keep the streak going at St Albans.”
Mohammed said they would like had a bit of a break before the season kicks off after having such a big pre-season.
Meanwhile, Westmeadows will replace Haig Fawkner in senior division this season. The Warriors were set to be relegated to division 1, but instead Haig will be the side to drop down.
Tara Murray
