St Albans is targeting improvement in its existing playing group after a quiet off-season.
The Saints narrowly missed a Victorian Turf Cricket Association senior division finals berth last summer, finishing in fifth spot, equal on points with fourth-ranked Airport West St Christophers.
The club has locked in a familiar face as captain-coach, with Paul Hetherington returning after a successful stint with Gellibrand which included back-to-back premierships.
‘‘I think we’re optimistic. Obviously I’m new coming in, so we’re not putting any expectation on ourselves, but we’d like to be competitive. We think we’re looking OK and we’re pretty happy with what we’ve got internally,’’ Hetherington said.
‘‘We think we’ve got quite a bit of internal improvement that will hopefully hold us in good stead for the year.’’
Teenager Mitchell Pittaway is one of the emerging players in St Albans’ ranks and will be given more opportunity after nine first XI appearances in 2024-25.
Kadin Chapman and Jason Udagedara are also set to play greater roles.
James Meggitt (348 runs) and Charith Mendis (278) led the way with the bat last season, while reigning club champion Akila Isanka collected 38 wickets at 18.24 apiece.
However, the Saints have lost star all-rounder Arosh Janoda (271 runs and 23 wickets), who was one of their standouts.
Janoda has joined Isaacs Howarth Shield outfit Sunshine and Hetherington said the club wished him the best.
Hetherington said the lack of first XI signings wasn’t through a lack of trying.
‘‘We just missed out on a few unfortunately so we’ll use it as a year to build on what we’ve got already,’’ he said.
Hetherington, who logged 282 runs and 18 wickets at Gellibrand in 2024-25, said he was ‘‘excited by the challenge’’ at St Albans.
‘‘I always had really good relationships when I left the club, always had a really strong connection,’’ he said.
‘‘When I left I thought I’d love to captain-coach and obviously got the opportunity and hand in hand with that, I’m really excited.’’
Hetherington said the Saints would be chasing all-round improvement, pointing to close losses last season as the potential reason they missed the top four.
There is no shortage of quality in the VTCA’s top grade, with Deer Park, Yarraville Club and Sydenham-Hillside packed with big names.
‘‘The standard’s unreal, and it’s so good for the VTCA. There have been so many big names who have come in and it feels like every single year you just need to get better,’’ Hetherington said.
‘‘I see there are a lot of teams who have recruited a lot of quality cricketers, so it’s exciting. It’s good for everyone to have such a high level of cricket.’’
The Saints started their season with a loss to Keilor.
