Ben Foster has stepped down as captain/coach of Sunshine United Cricket Club.
Foster, who spent two season at the club and led the Tigers to last season’s West A1 premiership, is unable to commit to playing regularly.
Foster will be replaced by opening batsman/wicketkeeper Neeten Chouhan who was a member of the Tigers’ 2014-15 premiership side.
Chouhan, 32, and described as a natural leader, played first-class cricket in his native Zimbabwe.
Sunshine United president Mark Dalrymple said the only other departure from last year’s premiership team was Henry Popinski, who had retired.
“Ben goes with our blessing and we’re hoping he’ll find time to play some games for us, but we’ll see about that,” Dalrymple said.
“He did a fantastic job while he was at the club and we are still in the process of trying to recruit a batsman to replace him.”
One ready-made inclusion for Sunshine United is Dale McLeod, a high-quality all-rounder who made 206 runs and took 22 wickets last season but played no part the Tigers’ finals campaign because of injury.
Last year’s premiership win elevated United to the Victorian Turf Cricket Association’s north division, the second time in two seasons the club had been promoted.
Despite the jump in class, Dalrymple is confident his first XI has what it takes to match it with the best.
“We were demoted two years in a row and now we’ve been promoted two years in a row so we are basically back to where we started,” he said.
“Going up into north division, we still need to make ourselves better. You can’t rest on your laurels.
“Having said that, I’m very confident our bowling stocks are good enough to maintain a strong position in that division and, maybe, play in the finals.”
Sunshine United’s bowling was a highlight of the club’s premiership win, with Michael Glowacki taking a division-high 48 wickets, while Indika Dharmawardane and Shaun Tarrant combined for 56 scalps.
All three will be back at the club next season.
