Tara Murray
Keilor has added some more experience to its group as it tries to close the gap on its best and worst in the Victorian Turf Cricket Association senior division.
The Blues missed out on the top four by a game last season but showed when they played well they could push the top sides.
Having focused on youth in the past few seasons, coach Duncan Harrison was keen to get a bit more experience around them.
The club announced that Mick Allen, who has won the Victoria Premier and Victorian Sub-District cricket best and fairests, would captain the first XI this season.
Harrison said he had been working on Allen for a year to pick up the bat.
“We’re excited to have him on board,” he said. “I was at Melton when he was at Melton we spent that time together.
“I got Mick to come and do some coaching last year, he wasn’t playing last year. I’ve worked on him over for the last 12 months.
“He has had a very good long career and also a very good leader as well, something we will definitely benefit from.”
Also joining the club is former Yarraville coach Jonah Koch, who has also played premier cricket.
Harrison said Koch would be a good inclusion for the bowling attack.
He said they were putting some pieces together and sticking with pretty much the crew from last year.
“It should lead to some improved results,” he said. “The last three seasons we’ve had a pretty strong focus to develop our own players.
“We talked about getting 30-40 games into a group of players and we’ve done that now.
“We think we’re going to start to get some more consistent results, but we’re quite young and leadership was one thing we were looking for in the off season and Mick and Jonah are sensational.”
Harrison said they were expecting a number of those younger guys to start taking that next step up.
“I’m excited about Matthew Gaskett,” he said. “He won the medal two years ago and last year he had a good season but he’s been to England and the likes, he is at a really nice age to go well.
“I think Ryan Metz has been training really strongly. Matthew Strachan, the leg spinner had a solid season without getting rewards.
“There’s a couple straight away I think will definitely improve and we’ve got a very good second XI and there’s four or five young guys coming through that side that we definitely see as players of the future.”
Harrison said they were hoping to get a bit more consistency this season. He said they just haven’t been able to find their best for long enough.
“Definitely looking at more consistent performance, competing for longer,” he said. “Hopefully that transitions into one or two more wins that puts us in the bottom of the four, that is the next step for us.”
