EXCITEMENT is high at Riverside Park, with the Wandella Cricket Club set to make their debut in the Swan Hill & District Cricket Association this weekend.
The Bombers will field three senior and two junior teams, with Wandella set to kick off the new season under lights on Saturday evening in the McDonald’s T20 competition against the SHDCA reigning premiers Woorinen.
Wandella’s A Grade won’t be the only team in red and black to be taking to the field this weekend, with both their B and C Grade teams set to face off against Nullawil-Culgoa, while both the Under 16s and Under 13s will play their first games in the new league against Sea Lake-Woomelang.
Wandella president Luke Murray could barely contain his pleasure when he spoke with The Guardian last week ahead of his club’s debut weekend in the SHDCA.
“I think there’s a sense of excitement – it’s a bit of an opportunity and a bit of an unknown for what we’re coming into, but we’re all excited for new experiences and we just want to enjoy ourselves and play some cricket in Swan Hill,” Murray said.
While the decision to switch leagues will no doubt prove to be a positive for the club, Murray indicated the move was all about securing his club’s future.
“Those sorts of decisions (to leave the Northern District Cricket Association) are never taken lightly and are always tough – there’s often some sort of collateral damage, where you can potentially lose players, but we felt it was in the best interests of our long-term future and for growing our club,” Murray said.
“And it’s giving our younger members of the club the best chance to succeed.
“We want to create a really strong, stable future and our junior pathways are the best opportunity for us to do that – and exposing our kids to higher levels of cricket can only be a positive for us and them.”
While the Bombers have been a strong club for a number of years, the move to the SHDCA is a whole different challenge – but it’s one that Murray is sure they will be able to meet.
“I’d like to think we’ll be competitive and knocking on the door of the top four in A Grade, and in all the other grades – I just hope we’re competitive, which I think we will be,” Murray said.
“We want to play hard cricket, but at the same time we want to be a very social club and be open to more and different opportunities like playing under lights and playing in double headers and that sort of thing – and we think Swan Hill is a very progressive association in that regard.”
