By LIAM TWOMEY
THE future is looking bright for Sunshine after the club achieved its best Hatch results since 2011.
The Crows made a shaky start to the tournament, dropping their opening two games to Williamtown and Yarraville.
However, a victory against Altona in round three sparked a fight back which saw Sunshine go on to defeat Melton and push eventual finalist Roxburgh Park in a hard-fought clash.
The club’s final game against Werribee was called off because of the heat.
Hatch and first XI coach Mark Brown was rapt with the hard work his players put in.
“We played some quality sides in the first two games and I think the boys were given a bit of a wake up call,” he said.
“I think it is the first time since 2011 that the Sunshine Cricket Club Hatch team has got more than one win.
“People have congratulated me but at the end of the day it really has nothing to do with me. It is all about the boys and how they have handled themselves. The big kick for me, as coach, is to look at their stats after the carnival. Hopefully everybody goes well and we can continue to see that improvement.”
The results continue what has been a positive year for Sunshine in the Victorian Sub-District Cricket Association.
With Brown taking over the top job in the off-season, the Crows have reached a 3-6 win/loss record and are certain to improve on their bottom of the ladder showing in 2012/13.
With the first XI still an outside chance of qualifying for finals, Brown is encouraging his players to continue their improvement in the final part of the season.
“We are going to push as hard as we can,” Brown said.
“We have spoken about a couple of things that are letting us down and one of them is bowling extras.
“The bowlers are under pressure but if we can limit those extras it will be a big difference.
“Another one, and I put my hand up for this, is hitting singles. I’m timing drives to fielders where the good sides, they look for ones with soft hands.
“Other than that, all the KPIs I had for this year, bar maidens, they are all ahead of where we were last year.
“That reflects in the win/loss ratio as well. We are up and about and really want to push and see where we can take it.”
