East Sunbury’s core group is back and keen to further develop in the Gisborne and District Cricket Association Johnstone Shield.
The Thunder have fielded a young side in recent seasons and that hasn’t changed this year with the majority of the first XI under the age of 26.
Vice-president and coach Chris Watson said the group was continuing to build.
“It’s the exact same group with the only addition being Hammad Rashid, who has come back to the club,” he said.
“We’ve got that continuity in the group and they’re starting to get a bit more confidence within themselves.
“We’ve strengthened our bowling with Alec Nichols giving us some assurance in that area.
“Hopefully we can keep them all together for at least another three to four years and become a McIntyre Cup club again in the future.”
Lachie Wilkins and Liam Williams have both started the season strongly for the Thunder in some good sides.
After a rain interrupted start to the season, the Thunder opened its account with a win against Wallan.
Watson said a win like that gave the group plenty of confidence.
“We were fantastic for the first half against Eastern Hill and then our batting let us down,” he said.
“We had a good first game before we were washed out. Defeating Wallan will give us a massive momentum going forward.
“The group is starting to build a bit of belief. We’ve knocked off Wallan a couple of times the last couple of years and we see them as the benchmark.”
Watson said they were hoping to play finals this year. He said off field things were running well, led by president Mark Wilkins.
The two-day format starts on Saturday, with the Thunder facing Kilmore.
Watson said before the match that he thought the format suited them a lot better as it gave their players a chance to build their innings.
