ULTIMA-TUF CRICKET CLUB – 2021-22 SEASON PREVIEW
SHDCA FAST FACTS
PRESIDENT – Leigh Matthews
A GRADE CAPTAIN – Kade Benfield
SENIOR COACH – Shane Ingram
LAST A-GRADE PREMIERSHIP – 2006-07 2020-21
FINISH – Fifth
LEADING RUN SCORER – Kade Benfield – 205 runs @ 15.77
LEADING WICKET TAKER – Josh Waldron – 17 wickets @ 16.71
DESPITE not having played finals for the past 11 years, Ultima-TUF will enter season 2021-22 hoping their fortunes might be about to turn the corner.
The 2009-10 season was the last time the RooDogs saw finals action, when they were bundled out of the Semi Finals by Swan Hill.
Since then, it has been a barren run, with the men from the Alan Garden Reserve at one stage enduring a 34-game losing streak that stretched across four seasons.
Those dark days are now long behind them, as Ultima-TUF will not only look to build on their three wins from last season, but are starting to compile a team that could well be capable of pushing the better teams in the competition on their day.
The RooDogs have recruited well in the off season, adding the hard-hitting Ben Shepherd from RSL and solid middle order batsman Mitch Seton-Stewart from Swan Hill.
They will join youngsters Will Nelson and Beau Alty, who have returned to the club and will most likely slot into the top order.
Their batting line-up will take on a completely different look this season, with new skipper Kade Benfield and Kyle Symons the only players from last year that will again take on considerable roles.
While they have added considerable depth to their batting, their bowling attack is still a work in progress.
Last year’s leading wicket taker Josh Waldron will return, with the left arm paceman again needing to fire up if Ultima-TUF are to have any chance of a finals push.
A player the club hopes will improve is last year’s captain Jordan King, who may be able to reach his full potential without the burden of captaincy.
Young bowlers Luke Doolan and Liam Bell are expected to swing the ball to great effect, and may even open.
New captain Kade Benfield was confident of what lay ahead for his team when he spoke with The Guardian this week, especially when it came to his two star recruits, Mitch Seton-Stewart and Ben ‘Benny’ Shepherd.
“Both guys have played a lot of good cricket, they both played juniors with the Bulls and to be honest, I expect them to lead from the front,” Benfield said.
“Mitch probably hasn’t played as much cricket over the last couple of years and he’ll probably take a few games to get into it.
“But I think once he does, he will probably lead the way through the middle order with the bat, and Benny will hopefully get us going with a good, hard-hitting start.
“I know it’s a bit of a cliché, but I think it’s going to be a whole team effort for us to achieve what we are wanting to.
“We don’t really stand out in either discipline, but we will definitely improve with the bat and also in the field as well.
“With a few older heads in the team, I think they will naturally be stronger in the field than the kids.”
In terms of where the team’s strengths lay, Benfield only has to go back to their last game of the 2020-21 season, where they bowled out last year’s premiers Woorinen for just 109 inside 28 overs, before chasing them down with one wicket to spare.
“That win gave us so much confidence – to prove to ourselves that we were able to take it up to the best in the competition last season,” he said.
“And, we’ve improved on that team from last year – I think we could do anything.”
WORD FROM THE CAPTAIN – KADE BENFIELD
“Our first aim is to play finals, but I really want to set high expectations on us make the Grand Final.
“We’ve got a lot of inclusions and the club is in a really strong place – we haven’t made finals in I don’t know how long, but with the team we’ve put together, I think we can get there.”
PLAYER TO WATCH -Kyle Symons
Has been the rock of the Ultima-TUF batting order for almost a decade, but with a stronger batting line up around him this season, Symons could well take his game to another level.
INS – Mitchell Seton-Stewart (Swan Hill), Ben Shepherd (RSL), Will Nelson (Returning), Beau Alty (Returning)
OUTS – None
UP NEXT – WANDELLA CRICKET CLUB (TUESDAY)
