This time last year, Caroline Springs was anchored to the bottom of the Williamstown District Cricket Association’s A-grade turf ladder, with just one win to its name.
Fast-forward 12 months, and the Falcons are knocking on the door of a finals berth.
The remarkable turnaround continues what has been a strong period of growth for the club, which was playing in matting competitions just three years ago.
Falcons president Steve Collins is full of praise for the club’s young players, who he says have worked hard to fit in at the next level.
“We’re extremely happy with how the club has progressed,” he said.
“There’s been a lot of natural improvement. The guys are a lot more comfortable playing turf cricket, which has had a positive impact on the team.
“If you look at the games, if not for a little bit of bad luck getting rained out, for one, and heated out, for another, we could be sitting comfortably in the top three.
“We know we still have a lot of work to do, but the club is heading in the right direction.”
Caroline Springs will need to be at its best if it wants to leap into finals.
The Falcons will take on first-placed Grand United and second-placed Gellibrand before a possible do-or-die clash against the third-placed Melton Centrals in the final match of the home and away season.
Caroline Springs has already met the Centrals once this campaign. The Falcons picked up their most impressive win as they edged out last season’s runners-up by four runs.
Leading the charge for Caroline Springs with the ball, Christopher Vulic has taken 19 wickets at an average of 13.
Vulic is the only Falcons player inside the league’s top 10 rankings for wickets taken or runs scored.
“But across every game, we’ve had a lot of guys put their hands up,” Collins said. “It’s not just the usual suspects. Generally speaking, there has always been a couple of guys to pick up the slack if someone has a quiet one.”
In fact, it was a very quiet weekend for WDCA sides, with all turf play washed out.
The Falcons’ clash against Grand United has been shortened to a one-day match this week.
