BPCA Season Preview: Armstrong Creek’s historic first season in division 1, Anglesea set to defend title

Armstrong Creek is readying itself for a historic first BPCA1 clash, while Anglesea is set to defend its title. Read more about the season ahead here.

BPCA1 Armstrong Creek at training with Cricket starting this weekend bowler Lachie Mulgrew Picture: Mark Wilson

Newly-promoted Armstrong Creek is expecting a tough season in the top division of the BPCA this year, but coach Dan Maclean says his players are raring to go.

Last year’s BPCA2 premiers will host Inverleigh in their first game in the top competition since their inception in 2017, with the list relatively young outside of the coaching group.

Maclean said it was an exciting time for the club.

“We’ve managed to keep a fair bit of depth, everyone has been really excited about the season,” he said.

“We’re hoping we’ll compete, hoping to win a couple of games and be a part of the competition.

BPCA1 Armstrong Creek at training with Cricket starting this weekend bowler Brandon Ross Picture: Mark Wilson

“The playing group knows we’re taking it a week as it comes, there will be some challenges along the way but we just want to see that development each game.”

BPCA1 Armstrong Creek at training with Cricket starting this weekend batsman / wicket keeper Aaron Morgan Picture: Mark Wilson

Meanwhile, Anglesea coach Bryan Thomas says his squad is under no delusions of being the top team in the BPCA1 this season after losing two of its biggest names in the winter.

The reigning premiers lost batting duo Dale Kerr and Ned Cooper after their grand final win against Jan Juc, moving to North Geelong in the GCA for 2022/23.

Thomas said it would be a difficult job to go back-to-back with premierships, but the Roos had put in a strong pre-season ahead of round 1.

“I think Barrabool has always been a well-run club, they’ve recruited well, as have Jan Juc and Ocean Grove,” he said.

“I think it’s a pretty even competition, anyone can win it on their day, which is great.

“Losing two dominant players on hard wicket brings us back to the fold a little bit, I think it’ll be a bit more even this year.”

Cooper scored 695 runs in 15 innings last season, including a mammoth score of an undefeated 153, while Kerr had 231 runs across 10 innings and took 22 wickets for the year.

Thomas said he expected some of his players to step up into the void Cooper and Kerr had left.

“There’s going to be a bit more pressure on Tyron Norman to really keep us up and steady at the top,” he said.

“Brett Venables hasn’t really had an opportunity in the last three or four years but he’s done a big pre-season with the bat and he should get a chance.

“Joel Davies is the big story for Anglesea though, he’s had a big pre-season with us after a few years in Geelong’s firsts and he has imparted a lot of knowledge with our other batters on building an innings and improving.

“There have been a number of younger boys starting to step up and play well with the older boys because of Ned and Dale leaving, they were so dominant but now we’ve got opportunities for these other guys to hopefully take that spot.

“We’ve been training indoors all pre-season and we’ve felt we’ve been able to work on different aspects of our game a bit more, like building an innings and the defensive side of it, it’s been fantastic for the club.”

Drysdale coach Nick Hallam believes his squad can go one better this season after falling agonisingly short of winning last year’s premiership.

The minor premiers lost to Armstrong Creek by seven runs in the grand final after finishing the year with a 10-2-2 record.

Hallam said the depth of the squad had improved and players were ready to challenge for promotion again.

“It’s been a really pleasing pre-season to date, we’ve had some new inclusions to the club as well as some returning players come back in, so we’re in a really good spot,” he said.

“The intensity of training sessions has been really good, even though ground availability and the weather has made it a little more difficult.

“If you put yourself in the position to win, you’ve got to be able to lose them and do it in a way you don’t define yourself by it.

“We’re not dwelling on what happened last year, we’ve moved on and we’re focused on playing good cricket, improving through the season and competing again.”

Hallam led the way for Drysdale with the bat, scoring 538 runs in 14 innings, while opener Jason Malcolm notched 388 runs in 15 innings.

But Drysdale lost its best contributor with the ball in the off-season, with Bailey Sykes leaving for the GCA after taking 36 wickets last year.

But Hallam said Sykes’ departure would give some of the club’s younger bowlers a chance in the senior team.

“The ability for us to have people in the lower grades performing and putting pressure on selection is a really positive thing,” he said.

“We’ve got some really promising junior fast bowlers coming through and some younger batters developing.

“On top of that we’ve got Lachie Wilson, who’s now played about 30 games of senior cricket and he’s just 17 years old, so the balance of the side in terms of senior experience and junior exposure has been really promising.

“We’ve obviously lost some experience as well as some really talented younger players with Bailey moving onto Grovedale, but we think we can get the balance right and still compete this year.”

Originally published as BPCA Season Preview: Armstrong Creek’s historic first season in division 1, Anglesea set to defend title