Plenty Valley skipper Ryan Pearson remains upbeat despite wet start to season
Plenty Valley has seen action in just two of the opening five weeks of the VSDCA season and Bats skipper Ryan Pearson hopes the weather turns so his team can find top form.
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Plenty Valley skipper Ryan Pearson hopes early-season washouts won’t come back to haunt the reigning VSDCA premier come finals.
The Bats have played just one game in the opening five weeks of the season — a four-wicket loss to St Bernard’s that was also rain-affected.
Pearson lamented the fact neither A.K Lines Reserve nor Coburg City Oval were ready for Round 1, meaning both clubs had to settle for a draw despite sunny conditions.
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Plenty Valley’s Round 3 one-day clash against Caulfield on Saturday was washed out without a ball bowled.
“We’ve played about three-quarters of a game in three rounds and the weather’s not going to be much good next weekend either,” Pearson said.
“Coburg’s ground wasn’t ready in Round 1 and neither was ours, which was disappointing when the weather was no nice to miss out on Round 1.
“The last three weeks it’s been raining, but training has been sensational. Everyone’s raring to go.”
A.K Lines Reserve remains out of action as it recovers from the football season but Pearson was confident Yarrambat War Memorial Park would be ready when Kew visits in Round 6, starting November 23.
The Bats are scheduled to take on Malvern this weekend with the South group club’s powerhouse batting line-up catching Pearson’s eye.
Tom Rickarby is the competition’s leading run-scorer with a 144 and 97 to his name in the opening two rounds, while Luke Walker and Glen Parker are also dangerous.
“They’ve had a couple of really good results,” Pearson said.
“Rickarby with 144 and 97, Walker was a star for Frankston Peninsula and Parker was a pivotal player for Camberwell, so they’ve got some firepower with the bat.
“They’re always up there, always competitive, so like every game this year it’s going to be red hot.”
The Bureau of Meteorology was predicting a 70 per cent chance of rain and a top of 16 degrees.
“We just want to get out there, it feels like it’s been a really long pre-season,” Pearson said.
“The competition in the nets is really good and because we haven’t played cricket on a Saturday everyone is really fresh on Tuesday and Thursday, so the training standard has been really good.”