Collie Cricket Club president Thomas Plummer is convinced last year’s Bunbury and Districts Cricket Association 2nd Grade premiers will be able to hold their own after being promoted to the 1st Grade competition for the 2017-18 season.
The BDCA fixture opens this weekend with the first of two T20 matches, before the season proper commences on October 21.
Plummer said the club’s top side had retained its nucleus, but captain Seth White and stars Mark Williams and Blair Malatesta would miss the start of the season.
Brayden Kent was also unavailable early because of an injury suffered while playing football for the Collie Eagles and Steve Ireland would miss some matches because of work commitments, he said.
“Our team will be competitive after what we were able to achieve last year,” he said.
“A lot of the juniors are now full-time seniors. They were competitive last year and they will only get stronger this year.”
Plummer said star junior Austin Kent would likely feature in the 1st Grade team after being unlucky to miss out on selection for the WA Country Under 16s side.
Fellow youngster Ayden Parkin would be one of the quickest bowlers in the competition, he said. Meanwhile, the club will also field teams in 3rd Grade and 5th Grade, along with junior teams in the Year 7 and Year 8 competitions.
It was still hopeful of fielding a Year 12 team.
