Left: Excited … Bob Kunesevic will again lead Sydenham/Hillside into battle in the NWCA George Luscombe Shield competition this season. 37393 Picture: EMILY LANEBy Luke D’Anello
SYDENHAM/ Hillside captain-coach Bob Kunesevic believes his club’s depth runs deeper this season and is hopeful his young side will continue to flourish.
The Storm made the semi-finals in last season’s North West Cricket Association (NWCA) George Luscombe Shield competition, despite the fact it was in a rebuilding phase.
With no significant departures and an eager playing group, there is no reason why the Storm can’t improve further in 2010-11.
It will begin this season’s campaign against the team that conquered it in last season’s finals, Gladstone Park.
‘Last year was really a regrouping year for us. We had a very young side, and we lost a few players through retirement,’ said Kunesevic, who is in his second season in the job.
‘We had four or five kids in the semi-final side, and they will be better this year.
‘We’re not really worried about how many games we win, as long as we improve as a side. That’s our aim this year.’
The Storm has gained 27-year-old Terry Bayly, a former member of the ACT Comets set-up and Northern Territory under-19s.
Bayly, who has recently moved to Melbourne and is friends with Kunesevic, broke the toe of former Australian Test opener Justin Langer during a practice session six years ago.
Former captain Greg Wilson has also returned to bolster the batting stocks.
Warren Hackney scored 761 runs last season, including two centuries, and will again be leading the charge with the bat. Hackney was a deserved winner of the Vince McCambridge Medal last season.
Twins Grant and Thomas Devereux are among the emerging players in the ranks, along with Jarryd Lindsay, who played seven games in the first XI last season.
‘We’re really focusing on being a solid group, with everyone contributing. I feel that when it’s time for a bloke to stand up, he’s got to take that opportunity. We’re really going down that path of when it’s your turn for responsibility, take it.
‘There’s going to be a lot of depth through the grades.
‘We’ve really worked on our strength and core. We’ve also been focusing on getting the basics right and getting our techniques right so, in round one, we’re ready to go.’
Kunesevic estimated 18 of the club’s players were capable of playing in the top-grade.
