A returning junior star is set to take the coaching reins at Sunshine Heights Cricket Club next season.
Tim Mahoney has signed on to lead the Heights in 2015-16, rejoining the club after a stint with Victorian Premier Cricket side Footscray Edgewater.
The 20-year-old has a rich history with Sunshine Heights, having played in the club’s west B1-turf premiership in 2013-14.
Sunshine Heights president Paul Stockwell said it was great to have Mahoney back at the club.
“Tim has come through our juniors and was good enough to go off and play district cricket for Footscray,” he said.
“Now that he’s come back, it’s really exciting for the club.
“We approached him to see if he was interested and we weren’t really 100 per cent sure if he would take it on.
“We were rapt to see that he was keen to bring some new blood and a young approach. I think it’s something that will really drive us for the next few years.”
Mahoney is replacing Matthew Shawcross, who stepped down from the head coaching role in the off-season.
Shawcross will remain at the club in a leadership role, as well as working with the Heights’ juniors.
Sunshine Heights is also welcoming back premiership captain Dilum Samarasinghe, who is returning to the club from Sri Lanka.
He will be joined by Saman Gonawala, who won the club’s ‘most outstanding player’ award last season, while wicketkeeper-batsman Luke Simpson has also signed on.
“To get all these guys back will really improve our depth,” Stockwell said, acknowledging the side had struggled a bit since its promotion to West A1. The 2015-16 season will also be his first in charge after Stockwell took over from former president Chris Hatzoglou.
