Premier Cricket: Kingston Hawthorn picks up Leicestershire’s Sam Evans
The Hawks are hoping for a run spree this summer after signing an English County batter who has made four first-class centuries.
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What a boost for Kingston Hawthorn.
The Hawks have signed Leicestershire opening batter Sam Evans for the 2022-23 Premier Cricket season.
The 24-year-old has played 26 County games and hit four first-class centuries.
Kingston Hawthorn coach Peter Marshall hoped Evans would arrive this week, in time for the Hawks’ first game of the season against Northcote on Saturday.
Evans will join fellow English first-class player Jordan Bulpitt in the Kingston Hawthorn line-up this summer.
Bulpitt is a Warwickshire left-arm seamer who will add talent, pace and experience to the bowling attack.
He’s been here for a few weeks and “fitted in beautifully’’, according to Marshall.
The Hawks finished on the bottom of the ladder last season but they were better than that, pushing several of the top teams.
Shorye Chopra will again skipper the Hawks and he’s a fine player, scoring two centuries last season as well as being arguably the best cover fieldsman in the competition.
Talented wicketkeeper batter Joel Lewis will be vice-captain.
The Hawks are hoping Zack Richardson can back up his break-out 2021-22 season when he took 20 wickets in seven games and Thaveesh Attanayake, who made 85 in the last game last season, will continue his development.
Visura Fernando is back from Dandenong and another excellent pick up is all-rounder Anurag Singh Dhaliwal, from Frankston Peninsula. He’s played a fair bit of Premier firsts.
Marshall is quite bullish about the season believing his side can climb the ladder.
“I don’t want to put too much pressure on the boys but we’re in the competition to win games, we’re not there just to make up the numbers,’’ he said.
“And we’re not going to be walkovers at the Galt (the Hawks’ home ground)…we just have to win games that we get into.
“There are going to be days when we are outplayed, I understand that. But when we are into games we’ve got to start turning these honourable losses into wins.’’
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