Despite achieving what might be regarded as the ultimate success in the South Eastern Cricket Association last season, winning the Longmuir Shield premiership, the new Brighton Union Cricket Club committee has been doing a lot of thinking lately about how we can do better across a number of aspects of our club to ensure we set up the 2023/24 season for success.
We have asked for and been given a lot of feedback since the end of last season and I’m pleased to outline some of the changes that will be in place for next season.
First and foremost, our new committee, with fresh perspectives have developed a “1Club” strategy where we will more closely align the senior and junior parts of our club and provide an environment across all levels within our club where cricketers, parents and supporters can participate, have fun and if they choose to - excel. The poster below provides more information on where our committee is focusing for the coming season and what values will drive what we do.
Our recent focus is “PREPARATION” - to build a solid base in which to launch the season.
COACHING - To support our new approach, an experienced cricket coaching panel have been appointed:
Abhilash Sharma will be the club’s new Head Coach. Abhi has played Victorian Premier Cricket for Fitzroy Doncaster for the previous two years and has been a part of the Melbourne Renegades Champions league. He has also previously coached the juniors at Carnegie Cricket Club. He is looking forward to bringing a professional approach and a strong coaching structure to Brighton Union and contributing towards creating a family like environment where everybody's achievements are recognised. We are very excited to have attracted such an outstanding cricketer and coach to our club.
Yasas Tillakaratne will again be our club’s Specialist Coach. Yasas has played first class cricket and was a professional coach and player in the United Kingdom for 15 seasons. He is a Level 3 High Performance Australia Qualified Coach - the highest attainable coaching level in Australia. He is a very sought after coach and we are thrilled that he will be assisting more with the juniors in particular for the upcoming season.
Our new Head Coaches of the junior teams are Anmol Malhotra and Ankush Malhotra. Anmol and Ankush are accomplished cricketers having played at Oakleigh Cricket Club and Emmanuel South Oakleigh Cricket Club since 2005 where they have led several teams over that time. For many years, they coached juniors across all levels at Emmanuel South Oakleigh Cricket Club winning multiple premierships. They joined BUCC last year as players and they are very excited to integrate the Junior and Senior teams to support our “1Club” approach. As coaches they have a track record of developing cricketers and winning premierships. They want to get the best out of everyone and ensure that cricket is always fun at the same time.
Phil Arnold will take on an expanded role this year with the junior teams. Phil is a legend of the competition and even has a cricket ball used in the junior grades named after him! Phil was the junior co-ordinator at BUCC for many years and after a few years at Ormond, where he will still have some involvement, it’s great to have him back doing more at our club. Phil is a selector for a range of representative teams for the South Eastern Cricket Association and therefore, is deeply experienced with selecting and then coaching the top junior talent in the competition.
A few of our older junior players, many of whom have been involved in coaching previously, will assist the senior coaches in managing the junior teams on match days.
For the junior teams, we firmly believe that nurturing young talent is the bedrock of any successful cricket club, and we are committed to providing our young players with the best possible training and support. Our juniors will receive high quality coaching to develop their skills and instil a love for the game that will hopefully stay with them for life.
Paul Foster
President
Brighton Union Cricket Club
