By Tara Murray
Melton Cricket Club is looking to use the expertise within its playing group for the 2019-20 Victorian Sub-District Cricket Association season.
Instead of appointing one coach, the club has appointed a coaching panel to take the reins.
Anthony Gale will oversee the panel as a director of coaching. Nathan Geisler, who has coached the side in recent seasons, Brad Jones, Ash Sweet and Ben MacRae make up the remainder of the panel. All will focus on one or two areas of the game.
Gale said the approach was something that was common within football clubs and premier cricket clubs.
“We’ve changed things around a bit and want to utilise the boys we have in the team a bit better,” he said.
“Nathan has been coach for the last four to five years. We just thought we would try and share the workload around and tap into the expertise.
“You’ve got Ben MacRae, who captained Essendon, and Ash Sweet played with Carlton.
“When you have one person coaching, it can be more about administration than coaching.”
Gale said the reaction to the coaching panel had been positive.
He said he hoped that it would help take the club to the next level.
Melton’s first XI team lost in a preliminary final earlier this year.
“Hopefully it will make the whole program run a bit better,” Gale said.
“We’ve gone OK the last few years and the club as a whole is improving and hopefully that will continue.
“We want to share the knowledge with the young group coming through.”
Gale said at this stage they had kept most of the playing group together.
Sri Lankans Pawan Wickramasinghe and Prabath Priyankaraare are unlikely to return and Gale, who stepped down from playing consistent first XI cricket last season, said he planned to play on,
Gale said they were starting to look at gaps in the side that needed to be filled for next season.
