Jacana Cricket Club is determined to use last season’s senior premiership, its first in 42 years, to propel it to greater Victorian Turf Cricket Association glory.
First step in preparation for the forthcoming season is settling on coaches for the club’s senior and junior sides.
Club secretary Sharron Kelly-Campbell said the coaching appointments would be a continuation of a rebirth process and the club’s strong emphasis on its juniors.
“Last season it was a new committee and most of the committee is back on board,” she said.
Kelly-Campbell said the club was unsure if last season’s coach and VTCA north B1 best and fairest winner, Praneeth Jayasundera, would continue playing and that it would be remiss of the club not to see who was out there.
On top of the uncertainty surrounding the return of Jayasundera, some of the premiership players are considering retirement.
That has prompted the club to hold off on its decision as whether it will accept promotion into the VTCA’s north A1 division from north B1.
“We are absolutely eligible to go into A-grade and we are nervous about that,” Kelly-Campbell said.
“We are looking for more players to try and make sure that happens.
She said the option of not “going up” was on the table.
“The desirable outcome is to play in A grade, but we don’t want that to be detrimental for the whole club,” she said.
“Our twos struggled last season and we struggled for numbers in the threes.”
Meanwhile, Craigieburn has appointed Ian Blanchett as coach for the 2015-16 north A1 season.
Craigieburn finished sixth last season, less than two points outside the finals.
Blanchett has spent the past three seasons as coach of Airport St Christopher’s in the VTCA senior division. He has previously coached at Doutta Stars and Keilor Park and has played county cricket in England.
