Melton is ready for the pre-season to be over and the Victorian Sub-district Cricket Association season to be under way.
The Lions will have a similar line-up as they look to improve on last season, which was a tale of two halves.
Lions’ coach Nathan Geisler said after a long pre-season they were ready to start playing.
“It has been a good pre-season,” he said.
“It’s a similar group to last season. The numbers have been good with 20 to 30 players at each session.
“There’s been an increase of numbers across the board in the twos, threes and fours. We’ll be a lot stronger than last season.”
Extra depth was something the Lions were keen to address with their lower grades struggling last season.
The seconds and fourths finished 13th, while the third XI finished bottom without a win.
Geisler said they had added some much needed experience to those sides, while a couple of 15-year-olds would start the season in the seconds in a good sign for the future. The first XI team will be similar to last season’s side.
Aaron Clarke, who made his first XI debut last season, is set to get first crack at the spot left vacant by the departure of the experienced Michael Alexander, who is this season coaching Darley.
“Michael’s departure opens a spot at the top of the order,” Geisler said. “Aaron and some other players will have to step up.
“Aaron will get first crack and we hope he takes that next step.”
Nathan Dantonio, who played both first and second XI cricket last season, has moved to St Anthonys. One inclusion is Nathan Taylor, who was playing cricket in Sydney and has moved to the area. Geisler said they hadn’t picked up any big names in the off season, with the focus on promoting from within.
He said this season they were hoping for a more consistent performance across the board, with most of the group having been together last year.
The Lions won five matches before Christmas and were in the top two at the break, before winning just one match after the break and finishing eighth.
“We were good before Christmas, but we couldn’t get the wins after that,” Geisler said.
“We weren’t blown out of the water, we just missed that killer strike. We’ve worked hard with the bat and ball and hopefully we will be more consistent. We know people’s roles and are more familiar with them.”
This season the Lions are playing in the north-west division. They start their season on Saturday, with a two-day clash against Kew.
The Lions women’s side will have to wait a week to get their season under way in Victorian Premier seconds, with a bye in the opening round.
