Plenty Valley is hoping that by adding a little more experience to its line-up, it will bring a winning culture to the club in Victorian women’s Premier Cricket.
The Bats have relied heavily on a young playing group the past few years, and while it has given the opportunity for several talented players to develop, wins have been few and far between.
This year, most of those players have returned, while they have added some players with state and international experience.
The first step for the Bats was appointing former Melbourne Uni men’s premier coach Kim Littlejohn as coach. Last season they relied on a coaching panel.
“I’ve worked with women’s cricket before internationally,” Littlejohn said.
“It’s been really good and I find working with girls a lot easier as they are open to change.
“It was a bit of a fresh start for me. The club was looking for a coach and someone put me in touch.
“Things fell into place.”
The club then signed Hong Kong all-rounder Mariko Hill, New Zealand international Kate Broadmore and experienced seamer Kathryn Burns.
English woman Laura Crofts returns to the Bats for a second straight year.
Experience was one area Littlejohn identified the club was lacking.
“Kate has played 56 games for New Zealand and has a wealth of experience and is only 25,” he said. “Mariko has played with the club on and off and hopefully we’ll have her deep into the new year.
“We’ve got some really good younger players, but were missing the experience for them to learn from.
“They’ve been thrown in the deep end in the past. Having been involved with successful teams it’s really important to find a way to win. They had got into positions to win without pulling it off.”
Littlejohn said that bringing more experience to the club doesn’t mean the younger players won’t get a chance.
“Rhiann O’Donnell has moved to Melbourne full-time, Sophie Van De Heuvel is only 15 and has got potential to go to the next level.
“Hope Irvine, Sophie Reid are just a number of good young players,” he said.
“Emma Sands is 14. She’s great now, but imagine what she will be like at 20.”
He said they were likely to see little of rising star Kirsty Lamb because of her Victorian and Big Bash commitments.
“They are playing premier cricket, which is one step from the professional level,.”
The Bats start their season on Sunday in a one-day clash against Box Hill.
