Tara Murray
New Sunshine coach Shafraz Mohamed is keen to help his new club finally break through in the Victorian Turf Cricket Association division 1.
The Crows announced that Mohamed would join the club as captain-coach replacing Troy Stone,
Mohamed joins the club after spending last season at St Albans, having had success with Footscray United before that.
He said he was looking forward to the new challenge.
“I was talking to them throughout the last year,” Mohamed said. “They wanted to make a slight difference to the way they go about things.
“They’ve played finals four years in a row and they want to go further. They want to add something different.
“In conversations with me they said they wanted to win something and we are on the same page. It was an easy decision to make.”
Stone, who held the role for 10 years, will continue on as a player.
Mohamed said that was massive for the club that Stone would remain part of the group.
“He is going to be brilliant for the group,” he said. “We’ve got some young players and some experience around them.
“I think we have the perfect combination of experience and youth. It reminds me a lot of Footscray United.”
While Stone is staying, Kaushal Lokuarachchi is departing in a big loss for the club.
He has been one of the best players for the VTCA for a number of years.
Ashen Abeykoon follows Mohamed across from St Albans with the pair also working together at Footscray United.
Mohamed said Abeykoon was one of the best up and coming players in the competition.
They’ve also added a Sri Lankan first class player.
Mohamed said he would look to bring his style to the Crows, which helped him take Footscray United from division 4 to division 1 in three seasons.
“I play a really attacking style with the bat and ball,” he said. “Cricket will definitely different to what it has been at Sunshine, the upside is key.
The Crows said that Mohamed’s willingness to win and the success he’s had in the past made it any easy decision to pick him up as captain-coach for the season 2024-25 season was an easy one.
Pre-season gets underway this week.
“It’ll be a big pre-season,” Mohamed said. “We’ll put in all the work in the pre-season.
“I’ve met up with a lot of them already and fitness will be a key thing. We’ll have a big pre-season and slightly ease up once the season starts with a lot of two-dayers.
“We want to be ready for round one.”
