SUNSHINE Cricket Club is on the way up.
Before a ball had even been bowled to mark the start of the 2013/14 season, Sunshine was celebrating its first win of the year, with the club given funding from the Brimbank Council for new change rooms.
After being known for having some of the oldest change rooms in the Victorian Sub District Cricket Association, president Greg Simpson described the upgrades as a massive boost for the club.
“We got here (Dempster Park) in 1970 … and we basically moved here into a paddock,” he said.
“We had the old change rooms which were built in the 30s.
“After a lot of hard work from the people involved in the club, committee members and volunteers, we actually got these social rooms built in 1980.
“We have had these club rooms for 30 odd years and being the premier cricket club in Brimbank we put a case forward for new change rooms.”
The upgrade process will start in November and is expected to finish by March.
After a difficult few years on the field, Simpson believes the upgrades will help the Sunshine Cricket Club bounce back.
“We have probably got some of the best training facilities,” he said.
“The social rooms are also great but the change rooms on the other hand, that is why I think this will help us so much.
“We want to be the best. We have a new coach, Mark Brown on board. The direction we are heading on the field, it is a changed culture around here.”
Simpson also thanked the Brimbank Council for its role in helping the club gain funding for the upgrades.
“We received a lot of help from council,” he said. “They have been fantastic to deal with and a great help for our cricket club. I think it is important to let the community know that the council is looking after them.”
Despite only being in the top job for a short space of time, Brown has already had a positive impact on the club.
The Crows consistently have about 60 players at training, the highest numbers for years according to Simpson.
Brown, who joined Sunshine from VSDCA club Williamstown, said one of the first things he did after taking over as coach was contact some of Sunshine’s gun players from past generations, to get their take on how to improve the club.
He also spoke to former Melton premiership coach Duncan Harrison about how the Lions became a competition powerhouse.
“From day one I envisaged that my role was going to be challenging,” Brown said.
“I learnt a lot from past coaches at Williamstown and at the end of the day, the guys need to be honest with themselves and do everything that is asked of them.
“The way I look at sport is that you only get what you put in,” he said. “If you go half-hearted at training then you will go half-hearted in a game.
“I think it is a very exciting time for the club and I am rapt to be here.”
