Coburg secures paceman Jack Sheppard from Premier Cricket club Footscray

Coburg has bolstered its pace battery for the upcoming VSDCA 2019-20 season with the addition of Premier Cricket paceman Jack Sheppard from Footscray.

Coburg has secured the prized signing of paceman Jack Sheppard from Premier Cricket club Footscray.

It’s the Burgers’ second big off-season coup after luring Aaron Shellie back from Essendon as captain-coach.

Sheppard claimed 18 wickets in 15 games for the Bulldogs in 2018-19 at an average of 29.3 after 23 scalps the previous season.

Shellie said he was looking forward to working with Sheppard, having previously played against him.

“It’s massive, having him on board,” he said.

Jack Sheppard in action for Footscray. Picture: Hamish Blair

“He’s pretty good mates with Zac Thorne and then I came on and kept the ball rolling.

“Obviously I played against him at Essendon, he’s a quality cricketer and ripping bloke. He’s a perfect fit.”

Sheppard’s arrival is a big boost to Coburg’s VSDCA finals aspirations after the club finished 12th this season.

Together with Thorne, Ryan Fort and Jordan Ashby, the Burgers will have one of the best attacks in the competition.

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Thorne was the sixth highest wicket-taker in the regular season with 29 wickets at 23.5 this season.

“Shepp will take the new rock, I think it would be pretty hard not to bowl him with the new ball,” Shellie said.

“It’s massive for us, first and foremost to play better cricket and get the wins up and like every club hope to make finals.”

After a much-improved season, the Burgers are looking to take the next step in 2019-20.

Aaron Shellie in action for Essendon. Picture: Nigel Hallett

A North-South alignment will pit the club against some of the heavyweights of suburban cricket.

However, Shellie is undeterred and with possible recruits still in the pipeline isn’t ruling out a finals campaign.

“We’re talking to a few people, but I’d rather keep that under wraps for now,” he said.

“We’ve had a few blokes fall through and a couple of guys not return calls after meetings but that’s the nature of the beast.

“There’s a lot of good young talent coming through.

“Realistically, with the group we’ve got from last year and then Shepp and myself coming on board, we’d be disappointed if we don’t make finals.”