Marist cricket in good hands

Kyle Davis is the ideal man to lead the Marist Cricket Club moving forward, according to Blues vice president Matthew Arrowsmith.

A player who prides himself on high standards and fitness, Davis will replace Reece O’Connell as skipper due to work commitments.

The Blues finished fifth on the Bunbury and Districts Cricket Association's A-grade table last season, dropping a number of close matches.

This is a trend both Davis and the Blues coaching hierarchy want changed.

“A big part of the pre-season has been driven by Kyle and club coach Ritchie Brown,” Arrowsmith said.

“Obviously it has been about getting the standard up around the club, so that way we can do all we can in order to win those close ones.

“And ultimately, we can get back into the finals race, which is where we want to be.”

The Blues will finalise their pre-season preparations at Forrest Park on Saturday when they host the St Marys Cricket Club in a scratch match. “We should have a fair few of the boys on board,” Arrowsmith said.

“A lot of them have had really good pre-seasons – many of them were even down before we officially started our training.

“We have good some really keen guys and a pretty young group this year, which we are really proud of.

“It is something we are hoping we can build on in terms of sustainability over a period of time.”

Arrowsmith might have stepped down as club president, but he will be working closely with Brendan Hogan, who was appointed over the off-season.

“Brendan is a very good clubman,” Arrowsmith said.

“He has had the respect from a lot of his clubmates for a long time and it is actually one of his first years involved on the committee.

“He comes in via demand. A lot of people actually approached Brendan and asked him to be involved which was the power behind his position in the club.

“He is just a good, solid contributor and we really think he is the man moving forward to lead the club.”