St Andrews has taken a big step to climbing back up the Victorian Turf Cricket Association standings with the appointment of Phil Crea as senior coach.
Crea replaces Jake Buttigieg, who has left the club.
Mark Rhodes will lead the first XI as captain.
St Andrews endured a tough 2012-13 campaign in the VTCA’s north A1 division, not winning a game.
Crea said he was looking forward to starting a new era at the club.
“I played there last year and, obviously, saw what the club has to offer,” he said.
“It’s a big challenge but an exciting challenge. It is really the start of a new era.”
St Andrews already looks better placed to have an impact on the season with the addition of gun quick bowler Sam Crea into the side.
The son of Phil, Crea took 18 wickets at an average of 24.1 for Werribee Centrals in the same division last year.
The season before he grabbed 43 wickets, including a six-wicket haul in the grand final to guide Centrals to a premiership.
With the club’s bowling improved, coach Crea has turned his attention to the batting.
“We’re looking at a couple of batsmen,” he said.
“We wanted to work on our bowling side first and we’ve done that. We are probably looking to build a side this year.
“If we can finish just inside or just outside the four, I think that will be a big improvement on what we did last year.”
St Andrews begin pre-season training on August 17.
Crea believes the most important ingredient for improvement in the side is a committed squad.
“We’ve kept most of the older blokes,” he said.
“Now we are just looking at picking up some good young blokes to blend in.
“What our club needs and what our club strives for is committed players – not players who are going to play one
game and then be unavailable for three or four.
“We’re looking at picking up players who will play every week and are committed.”
