Dropping down a division isn’t always the worst thing that can happen in cricket. At least that’s the view of Clarkefield Brumbies Cricket Club.
After struggling for some years in the North West Metropolitan Cricket Association’s George Luscombe Shield, the Brumbies were relegated last season after finishing bottom of the ladder with three wins.
In 2015-16, they will play in the association’s second division Vic Kyte Shield competition.
Brumbies batsman David Falzon says dropping down a division will allow the team to gain confidence and get some wins on the board.
“Many of the other clubs have five or six sides and get 100 players at training. We have just one team,” Falzon said.
“Maybe you need to go down and have a year of getting confidence and winning a few games.
“The last time we were in this division we won the championship.”
Falzon said the Brumbies had managed to keep most of last season’s team together.
“We lost one player, our captain Matthew Shaughnessy, who has gone to Riddell as he wanted to play at a higher level,” he said.
“We have pretty much kept everyone else and we’ve added a couple of extra players.
“We’ve been training really hard the last eight weeks.”
Falzon said Vincent Muscat and new captain Thomas Balmer were players to watch this season.
“Tom is a top-order batsman who’s been looking really good in the nets,” he said.
“Vincent is a right-arm fast bowler who’s picked up a couple of yards of pace.”
In a much-needed boost for the Brumbies, their Clarkefield Reserve ground was upgraded in the off-season.
“We’ve had a bit of trouble with the ground in recent years,” Falzon said. “The council has improved the playing surface and it’s a lot better. It used to have rabbit holes and wasn’t good to play on.”
In another boost, Clarkefield’s most famous business, the Coach and Horses Inn, has come on board as a sponsor for the first time in the club’s history.
Despite a new-found optimism at the club, the Brumbies lost their opening match of the season against Royal Park Reds on Saturday.
The Brumbies were bowled out for 150 in the 38th over, the Reds chasing down the total with six wickets and 10 overs to spare.
