Last year wasn’t kind to Greenvale Kangaroos, but in 2015 the club is showing glimpses of improvement.
The Roos finished 2014 with just two wins in the first half of the Premier Cricket season, but they’re well on the way to a second win from three matches in the new year.
The Kangaroos split their two games last weekend, beating Frankston Peninsula by two wickets and losing to St Kilda by 14 runs.
“We did our best to lose to Frankston but still got across the line,” coach Steve Maddocks said.
“The St Kilda game was very winnable. They got off to a flyer at the start of their innings. But if [Ben] Cox and [James] Lidgett had batted for a couple more overs we could have got the win.”
The good form continued against reigning premier Footscray-Edgewater on Saturday.
The Roos restricted Footscray to 188 before finishing day one at 2-75.
“We had a good day, but the job’s only half done,” Maddocks said.
“There were some pleasing signs … I thought it was the best we’ve bowled this season.
“After the first hour I thought we would be chasing 300-plus. But we kept the pressure on the batsmen and are now in a very good position.
“We need to just make some partnerships and bat and bat and bat.”
James Rosewarne took five wickets for the Kangaroos.
“James has played every single game since Christmas and has been bowling quite nicely,” Maddocks said.
Captain Lidgett has also stood out in the new year.
“It was a pretty tough first half of the season for him,” Maddocks said. “He got early runs and then struggled a bit.
“He’s grown into the [captaincy] role and has been better than I thought he’d be. The way he has handled himself is absolutely fantastic.”
Maddocks said the aim for the remaining rounds was to exceed the number of wins the club had last season.
“Overall, we had 12 wins as a club,” he said. “If we can at least equal that with the personnel we’ve lost, I’d say it would be a good achievement.”
