Hungry for redemption

Hungry for redemption

The East Gambier Bulldogs are hungry for redemption after losing the 2019-20 Barber Shield final to North Sportsman’s.

East enjoyed its most successful summer of cricket for over a decade last season and reached its first decider since 2007-08. However, the campaign ended in heartbreak after the Tigers were victorious in a tense decider and the Bulldogs will be determined to go one better.

Fast bowler Alex Hentschke captained the team for the first time last summer and will continue in the role. He said his men would fight hard for another grand final berth and already had his eyes on the rematch this weekend.

“It is never nice to lose and especially in a final,” Hentschke said.

“We have a good chance to bring it up to North and make a bit of a comeback in the opening round, but obviously it is not the same.” Hentschke believes the team is in good shape to embark on another chase for the Barber Shield with a strengthened senior squad.

There are minimal changes apart from Englishman Matthew Hastings, who has returned to his homeland and the experienced Ben Clark, who is unavailable for the first half of the season.

Young Matt Bennett will bring his all-round skills, while the likes of Travis Younghusband and Kev Thomson will add more depth off the back of leading East to a dominant C Grade premiership last summer.

Nathan Gore will lead the B Grade team, which is also coming along nicely with more older heads as the Bulldogs prepare to field a side in every grade.

Hentschke said he was looking forward to seeing some new names feature in the A Grade team and the senior ranks.

“There will be a few changes from last year with some blokes who are not playing and stuck overseas,” he said.

“But a few young blokes are coming through nicely and have put their hands up.

“Tom Von Duve will play, Kev Thomson is back in the line-up, Travis Younghusband will do some one-day stuff and Matt Bennett has come along after his brother has played juniors for us.

“We have another spin bowler to put in the mix, a swing bowler and a couple of young kids who have an extra year. “So we might have a few new faces in our batting order and a couple of young fellas taking the new rock at the other end.”

Despite the proposed changes, team leaders Hentschke and Dion Stratford will remain key figures. The captain led the bowling attack from the front with 32 wickets, while Stratford was a run machine with the bat and averaged over 50.

Hoping to continue building the momentum after a successful 2019-20, Hentschke said his team was looking ripe for the summer ahead.

“The season has snuck up a bit, but we have had strong numbers and are really happy with how we are heading into the year,” he said.

“We are in good shape, so I am fairly confident we can be somewhere around the mark.”

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