Tara Murray
Sunbury United continue to take it one week at a time in the Gisborne and District Cricket Association McIntyre Cup.
Sitting undefeated after 10 rounds and top of the ladder, the Bees could be forgiven for looking towards finals.
Captain-coach Upul Fernando said they were happy with how things were tracking at this stage of the season.
“We came up with a plan, but we didn’t expect to win 10 in a row,” he said. “We take it a week at a time, with all four teams working hard as a club.
“The committee has backed me in, 100 per cent.”
Fernando said the key to the first XI side and the other sides in the club this season was making sure that they were enjoying their cricket.
He said the culture was really good with everyone stepping up and playing their role.
“Everyone is backing each other up and that’s the best thing to be honest.
“Enjoyment is the secret of our success.”
Having lost Dilan Chandima after a standout season which included making more than 900 runs, Fernando said other players to step up and fill the void.
He said there aren’t many players like Chandima available, a broader spread of contributors could share the workload.
“We lost Dilan who got 900 runs, it was a bit of an issue who was going to take his place,” he said.
“We’ve got a good mix of senior players and juniors. Senior players with 300 to 400 games experience.
“Damien Edwards has stood up on the big stage and has had big scores before.
“Steven Fogarty has taken on some repsonsibily and Ryan Billinghurst is my vice-captain.
“Our bowling strength has been led by Zach Forster with some steady bowling.
Rajitha Mendis is a senior player, Amrit Sandhu and Senura Perera have been bowling well too.
“They’ve all stood up in the big stages.”
While happy with the season so far, Fernando said they still had room for improvement.
The club’s last two games of the season are against second placed Gisborne and third placed Bacchus Marsh.
Fernando said after playing some of the bottom sides in recent weeks, has resulted in a slight drop of energy that they need to pick back up leading into finals.
The club is already guaranteed a top two spot heading into the last couple of rounds.
“There’s areas we want to improve on in the next couple of weeks,” he said.
“We’re still improving and working on our strengths and weaknesses and we’ll hopefully get back to the level we need to be.
“It’s a slow process but we are getting there. We’ve got another two weeks and it’ll be a good test for us and hopefully we’ll get a couple more wins.”
The Bees second XI currently sits sixth in the Johnstone Shield with six teams to play finals. Their third XI has struggled while their fourths are on top of the ladder.
