VSDCA 2020-21: Williamstown recruit Sean Sturrock set to cause havoc
Williamstown captain-coach Brent McMinn has given spinner and gun recruit Sean Sturrock a pump up ahead of the start of the Victorian Sub-District Cricket Association season.
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Williamstown captain-coach Brent McMinn was the third most prolific batsman in the Victorian Sub-District Cricket Association last summer.
But even a player of McMinn’s ability and experience has found it difficult to negate the spinners sent down from the Seagulls’ star recruit during a truncated pre-season.
Sean Sturrock has returned to his junior club after a 15-year career with Premier Cricket outfit with Melbourne delivered 207 matches and 290 wickets, with 166 of his victims coming in the First XI.
While Sturrock, who has taken up an assistant coaching role, would be a significant in for any club, McMinn pointed to the fact slow bowlers cause myriad headaches for batsmen in the Subbies.
“Left-arm spin is just such a point of difference,” McMinn said.
“You don’t see much left-arm leg-spin in our competition.
“If guys like (Caulfield gun) Jake Thorne are bowling off-spin and taking 40 wickets a season, I’d like to see what Sean Sturrock is going to bring to the table because I can’t face him at training, so good luck to anyone in the competition who wants to have a go.
“I’m glad his on my team. I’m happy to face him at training, not in a game.
“I’m really excited to see what he’s going to bring to us.”
The Seagulls are set to field at least three spinners this season, with Patrick O’Malley (16 wickets last season at 20.81) and McMinn (16 wickets at 24.94) more-than handy back-ups for the headline act.
“Spinners take all the wickets in this competition,” McMinn said.
“Whether I go with more spin than pace, I feel sometimes it’s easier to work with pace than spin on the wickets we play on.”
Sturrock will also play a key play role in the middle-order, with former coach Dale McDonald taking on an assistant role at Footscray.
Young paceman Fraser Hay has also joined the Dogs after collecting 21 wickets at 16.3 apiece last season.
But Williamstown has enjoyed plenty of success, collecting two flags in the past three summers, and will be hard to beat again.
McMinn declared the North had a stronger group of teams than the East, with Kew, Brunswick and Plenty Valley all expected to figure prominently.
There is also no shortage of contenders from the West, with Yarraville, Werribee and Altona all boasting strong line-ups.
“It’s always good to play against the best. You can find out how good you are,” McMinn said.
“We’ve got to be playing finals. That’s what we want to do again, and that’s the expectation from me as captain-coach. Nothing changes there for us.
“Obviously the season looks a little different … but that kind of suits us with the style we bring to the table as well.
“We’re a very good shorter format team. A couple of years ago we won the Twenty20 title and we haven’t lost too many one-dayers since then either.”
Williamstown’s deep batting line-up will also be a key factor in a season of one-day fixtures.
McMinn (667 runs) led the run-scoring charts in 2019-20, but James Grixti (337), James Cook (246), O’Malley (241), Brenton Hodges (235) and Matthew Twentyman (199) are all dangerous.
“We pretty much bat to No.8. There’s no easy wickets until you get down there,” McMinn said.
“In the shorter format, some of those guys down there might not get a chance to bat too often, but if they get a chance, generally they don’t let it go and do a really good job for us getting 20s and 30s at the end.”
With Hay’s departure, McMinn said the likes of Matt Dervan and Mitch Ferry would be looking to cement their spots in the top side.
“We’ve had a really strong seconds team … they’ve made finals the last 10 years with a similar group,” he said.
“There’s a few bowlers there who have been itching to try and get into our ones team for a while. Now they get their opportunity.”
The Seagulls will face rivals Werribee away from home in the opening round on Saturday.
The pair were set to meet in last season’s grand final before the match was called off amid the coronavirus crisis, with Williamstown awarded the premiership by virtue of finishing higher on the ladder.
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