Moshin Abbas has been with Sunshine Heights through the good times and lows and wants to help the Victorian Turf Cricket Association team get back to the highs.
Abbas who has been at the club for the past ten years has been named captain from the upcoming season.
Havin helped the club win silverware in his first season, he was there last season as the club finished bottom in division 3.
Abbas said he is adamant on returning the club to the glory he experienced a decade ago.
“I wanted to take a leadership role because I want to bring some change in the culture and bring some winning momentum,” he said.
“It’s exciting news for me because leading a prestigious club is a great opportunity.
“I’m looking forward to doing well this year.”
Although last place usually means relegation, Sunshine Heights have been granted an opportunity to stay in division 3 for the upcoming season.
“That was a big tick for us, not worrying about going down,” Abbas said.
“My plan is to bring more positivity in the team.
“My planning is horses for courses, so I might not be speaking to the same team for one day games and two day games.”
After only winning one game last summer, Abbas said there were some clear gaps in the team that he wanted to help fill. He has looked to add some more players to the squad.
“I have managed to get some local, really good positive players,” he said.
“I’m feeling very confident this year that we will have better results compared to last year.”
Some of the players Abbas has recruited to the club include Babur Nadeem and Ali Mughal to boost their batting stocks.
“Ali is a top order batsman who can bowl some off spin, he’s been scoring runs for the last two, three years consistently,” he said.
“[Nadeem] will be an X-factor for the team… he recently scored 100 from 20 balls.
“It’s just something you don’t see in your life.
“We scored 300 runs in a T20 and he scored 100 off 20 balls. I’m looking forward to the two or three innings in the season that he can win by himself.
“He is such a player, he has scored 600 (runs) in his last nine innings, so he’s in good red hot form and hopefully he can keep continuing to do wonders in Saturday cricket with me as well.”
Abbas said he is still on the lookout for an extra fast bowler to round out his attack, while also hoping to retain other key players including former skipper Luke Simpson.
The bar has been set high for the first season under the new regime.
“I’m looking at minimum finals, that’s my goal for this year and winning a premiership would be amazing,” Abbas said.
Harper Sercombe
