THE Nichols Point Cricket Club is confident that a few notable changes to its squad won’t affect its progress, as it set its sights on a second straight finals appearance this season.
Last season, for the first time since joining the first division in the Sunraysia Cricket Association in 2015, the Sharks were able to secure a finals spot, making it their most successful outing in the club’s history.
Coach Luke Coates was optimistic about his team’s build-up so far but conceded that the loss of two imports, Kaushik Aphale and Glen Bridson who have both exited the club, would be difficult to cover.
“We’ve lost Shaun’s brother, Lee and we’ve lost Alphie because he’s retired,” Coates said.
“He’s been travelling and playing cricket for a long time so he’s decided to pull the pin and see his family a bit more.
“It’s possible that Glen could come back for a couple games but at this point he won’t be here.
“It’ll be a challenge.
“We have lost a few key players but picked up some too so hopefully we can take another step this season.”
Coates announced that former Merbein player Zeeshan Butt had signed with the club for the 2023-24 season.
“We’ve kept our core team from last year and we’ve recruited Zeeshan, who played as an assistant coach at Merbein last year,” he said.
“There’s lots of locals and juniors coming through.
“We will really work on our junior scheme at the moment.
“Lewis Dichiera, Charlie Butcher and Brodie Ryan are a few who we think can help us get to where we want to be.
“I think Lewis could have a breakout season.
“He started to find form last year, which included seven wickets in a semi-final.
“Hopefully he should improve with the bat as well.”
As a whole, Coates said he hoped the squad could build on their consistency.
“We’re looking to improve on our batting,” he said.
“Our bowling and fielding is a strength at the moment so just consistently getting runs on the board is an area we need to work on.”
