Sarah Oliver
The Melton South Royals have remained on top of the ladder in the Victorian Turf Cricket Association division 5, but coach Leigh Edwards said it’s no time to get complacent.
With just one loss this season before the Christmas break, Edwards said everything has fallen into place for the team.
“We’ve got a good group at the moment,” he said. “They are in the right age bracket in the early twenties to early thirties.
Edwards said the team has a lot of experienced cricketers and that their home grown players have stepped up.
“We’ve really glued it together this season,” he said.
“But we don’t want to fall on our sword.”
The side’s only loss was against Roxburgh Park, with the match coming down to the final ball.
Despite the loss, the team fought back and have stayed on top, but Edwards isn’t getting complacent.
“The last thing you want is to assume it’s going to go as it has. Hopefully we’ll have a couple of tough games closer to the finals,” he said.
Batsman Keshara Lasith Lakshan is having a good season with an average of more 63 runs per game
Another key player is leg spin bowler Sachika Udara who has taken 12 wickets at an average of 7.17.
James Robertson is also having a great year with the ball taking 13 wickets at an average of 9.15.
Edwards said Royals captain Dean Pirro is leading the team well as the dominant bat.
“He’s leading from the front and usually showing the way how to go about it… [He] gets us off to a good start and sets an example.”
One Royals player will miss this week’s game due to isolation, with a number of other clubs feeling the pain of players being unavailable.
Edwards said they would just try to continue playing on.
“It’s a scary thing at the moment – you go into the week not knowing who you’ll have available,” Edwards said.
“We believe we’ve got the depth in the club – we’ll back our whole squad to get the job done. You just have to really take precaution – to protect each other and everyone’s families.”
The Royals are set to play Roxburgh Park on Saturday at Blackwood Drive Reserve.
