Message From the Brighton Union Cricket Club President
Dear Members and Supporters,
As we prepare to embark on the 2024/25 cricket season, I want to extend a warm welcome to everyone in our cricket community.
This season, we continue to be guided by our core values: People, Preparation, Participation, and Performance. These principles are the foundation of our club, and we are committed to making this season one of our best yet. We will continue focussing on maintaining a strong connection between the senior and junior parts of our club, creating an environment where cricketers, parents, and supporters can engage, enjoy themselves, and be successful.
Save the Dates!
Our social calendar is packed with exciting events in 2024, and we hope to see you all there:
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Season Launch and Trivia Night: 19 October
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Sportsperson's Night: 9 November
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Christmas Party: 21 December
We are looking into a Grand Final function with the East Brighton Football Club on 28 September however, this is subject to council approval.
We also have our Hoops Supporter lunch during Round 1 on 12 October when we play Bentleigh ANA for the Egan Shield.
More details will follow however, these events are more than just dates on a calendar; they are opportunities to come together and celebrate our shared love for the game.
Registrations Are Open!
Junior and Senior Registrations are open with some junior teams filling up fast.
Uniforms
Our on-line store is now open for juniors and seniors so please place an order before 14 August 2024 through our uniform partner SWIVS if you need any new gear for the upcoming season and need it before Round 1.
Click here for the Uniform Store Link
Coaching Appointments
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Abhilash Sharma continues as the club’s new Head Coach. His performance on the field last year was exceptional amassing 678 runs, the most in the competition, including three centuries and taking 21 wickets however, he will continue to focus as a coach on fostering a family-like atmosphere where everyone's achievements are celebrated whilst doing everything he can to improve performance and win premierships within designated teams.
Yasas Tillakaratne has been appointed as our Junior Coach and will again be the Specialist Coach for the Seniors. With a background in first-class cricket and 15 seasons as a professional coach and player in the United Kingdom, Yasas brings a wealth of experience. He holds a Level 3 High Performance Australia coaching qualification - the highest coaching level attainable in Australia. As a highly sought-after coach, including at international level, we are delighted that he will be dedicating more of his expertise to our juniors in the upcoming season.
I’d like to thank our Junior Coaches from last season, Anmol Malhotra and Ankush Malhotra. They did a fantastic job however, they simply cannot commit to the extent they did last year due to work commitments. I’m sure we’ll see them on a regular basis continuing to assist our Juniors around the club and hopefully also contributing to a Longmuir Shield premiership!
Phil Arnold will remain a valuable asset to our club and we will continue to tap into his extensive experience and knowledge of junior cricket to ensure our junior program is as successful as it can be.
We’re also excited to announce that Nestor Nezeritis, a Life Member and legendary wicket keeper, will be assisting in the coaching of our wicket keepers. It will be of great value for our wicket keepers and aspiring wicket keepers to tap into Nestor’s extensive knowledge of this specialised art.
A few of our older junior players, many of whom have been involved in coaching previously, will assist the coaches in managing many of the junior teams on match days and at training.
As I’ve mentioned before, we strongly believe that cultivating young talent is the foundation of any successful cricket club, and we are dedicated to offering our young players the highest quality training and support.
Training
Pre-season training starts this Tuesday at 7pm, the 13th of August, at Cricket HQ with outdoor training at Hurlingham Park commencing on 24 August. The indoor sessions on Tuesday nights from 27 August will have an extra net for juniors.
Senior Captains
Applications for senior captains of the club's three senior teams are now open. This is not to suggest the current captains are not suitable or will be replaced. It is the club’s way to find out if there are members who may wish to try the position of captain of a senior cricket team. If you are interested in captaining one of our senior teams, please contact me by 14 September.
If you have any questions or suggestions on any of the information above, please feel free to contact me or any member of the committee.
Thank you for your continued support - let's make the upcoming season truly memorable!
I’d also like to take this opportunity to extend my best wishes to Club Legends, Noel Pullen, Phillip Hope and Jeff Hayes who have had some serious health issues recently. Get well soon!
I’ll be in touch soon with some further important information about the upcoming season.
Best regards,
Paul Foster
President
Brighton Union Cricket Club
