Plenty Valley promotes Michael Rogneda to captain-coach, secures pair of recruits
Plenty Valley star Michael Rogneda will step up his leadership duties in 2020-21 while the Bats have secured a pair of recruits to help fill the void left by Ryan and Blake Pearson’s departure.
Local Sport
Don't miss out on the headlines from Local Sport . Followed categories will be added to My News.
Plenty Valley has moved swiftly to replace captain Ryan Pearson and his brother Blake.
After a successful VSDCA debut season with the Bats, paceman Michael Rogneda will take over as captain-coach in 2020-21.
Spinner Nishal Perera has been lured across from Premier Cricket heavyweight Essendon while Rogneda’s former Diamond Creek teammate Daniel Taylor has signed on after a season out of the game in a promising start to the recruiting campaign.
VSDCA: OAKLEIGH SECURE PAIR OF BATS
LEADER: GET YOUR LOCAL CRICKET NEWS HERE
PREMIER: PRODIGAL SON’S RETURN TO BOOST BOMBERS
The Pearsons joined Subbies power Oakleigh last month, leaving a massive hole in the Bats’ line-up.
However, Rogneda said the club was capable of contending again next season after missing finals for the first time since 2010-11.
“It was a blow but Ryan does live a long way away, so I understand and we move on,” he said.
“Nish is a former club junior … he’s a top-order bat and bowls really good off-spin. He’s taken First XI Premier wickets.
“Daniel had a year off but he’s really keen to get back into it, he can bat anywhere in the top six and bowls off-spinners that look like they spin but don’t.
“We’ve got a lot of young kids coming through as well. We had a 15-year-old and three 16-year-olds play last season, which was awesome, and hopefully they can play an even bigger role.”
Ryan and Blake Pearson were the club’s No.1 and No.3 run-scorers in 2019-20, while Ryan was also the second leading wicket-taker behind Rogneda.
Perera was restricted to five matches for Essendon’s First XI this season due to injury, while Taylor was a member of Diamond Creek’s DVCA Barclay Shield grand final side in 2018-19.
Rogneda led Plenty Valley with 25 scalps, the eighth most in the North-South group in the home-and-away season, but wasn’t satisfied with his first foray into Subbies cricket.
“I’ve really enjoyed it, coming from local cricket at Diamond Creek and a couple of years of Premier Cricket,” he said.
“(But) I wasn’t really (happy with my form). A big indicator for me is runs per over and maidens and wickets tend to look after themselves.
“My percentage of maidens was a lot lower than what I’d expect and I cleaned up the tail a couple of times, so it might make my figures look a bit better than what they were.”
The Bats will look to rebound in the VSDCA North-West group next season, where they have been premiers and semi-finalists in the past two campaigns.