Andrew Leetet is the new captain/coach at Williamstown CYMS Cricket Club. 43566
By Liam Twomey
IT has been a winter of change at the Williamstown CYMS Cricket Club as they parted ways with a number of familiar faces and welcomed some new blood to the team.
The biggest change took place at the top, with Andrew Leetet taking over the reigns as both captain and coach for the coming season in the Victorian Turf Cricket Association.
The wicket-taking machine said despite the changes he thought the playing list was as good, if not better than last season.
“We have picked up a couple of guys locally and we have had a couple of imports come in from the UK so I think it’s sort of apples for apples. We have replaced what we have lost,” he said.
“I think the longevity of the club is probably better off. Guys that are committed to the club and you would hope that would see us push forward.
“In the short to medium term we need to play at our best to stay at the level that we are in.”
Leetet was confident the future of the club was in good hands with a number of promising juniors on the way through.
Despite starting the season in amazing form with a six-wicket haul in just his second game, Leetet plans to use himself in the attack less often as the season progresses.
“It’s good to be able to give them (younger players) the opportunity. They have probably been starved of opportunities the last few years and now they will get a chance to shine,” he said.
“There are going to be situations where I will need to take a stronger lead but hopefully there will be situations where the young fellas can perform well and start leading the club.”
Williamstown has tinkered with their training regime this year as they search for the successful formula that will allow them to stay in the top grade of the VTCA.
There has been a greater emphasis on fielding and fitness and it appears to be paying quick dividends.
“We were just off the mark against the premiers in round one and we were in the game right up until the end. We will be looking to keep those sort of performances up,” Leetet said.
