DENNINGTON is confident Sri Lankan import Chamesh Fernando can fill the void left by his countryman Daminda Ranaweera this cricket season.
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Fernando will make his Warrnambool and District Cricket Association debut when the Dogs play Brierly-Christ Church in a Twenty20 match on Saturday.
The all-rounder replaces Ranaweera as the Dogs’ international player, with the club continuing a proud tradition of recruiting players from the island nation.
Dennington captain Dustin Drew said the club had anticipated Ranaweera would return to Warrnambool for the summer.
But the batsman-wicketkeeper secured a job coaching a Malaysian club side, prompting the Dogs to reconsider their options.
“They’re two different players,” Drew said.
“Daminda played a lot of cricket in the UK in similar conditions to ours, whereas Chamesh has played a fair bit of cricket, but not in our conditions.
“Chamesh has played a lot of cricket, good cricket. Good players don’t take time to adjust. Good players play well anywhere, in any conditions.”
Drew was keen not to put pressure on Fernando but expected him to fill a role in the middle order. The Sri Lankan can also bowl off-spin.
“We’ve had an import for the last 20 years. I think it’s great for cricket … It builds cricket in Warrnambool, it creates interest,” he said.
Fernando looms as the only addition to a Dennington side which has lost the past two WDCA grand finals, to Merrivale and West Warrnambool.
Drew is upbeat about the Dogs’ prospects of going one step further this season.
“The only thing we haven’t done the last two years is win a grand final.
“We’ve played in them but on the day we haven’t been good enough to win,” he said.
“There’s no point looking in the rear-vision mirror. We have to look at what’s ahead.
“We’ve got some really good young players who have played the last two seasons. You’d think now it’s time for them to take that step forward.
“They’ll be given more opportunities this year, which they’re up to. They’re ready to go.”
The youthful contingent includes all-rounder Shannon Beks, batsman Nick King and paceman Jack Lee and Ben Rantall.
“They’re the first four picked and you build your side around them, that’s the way I coach,” Drew said.
“It works in any sport — you look at Koroit in the Hampden league this year, they played I don’t know how many kids.”
Dennington will contest the Hopkins conference against Brierly-Christ Church, Allansford, Nestles, Merrivale and Nirranda.
Drew predicted “a really even comp” but believed his men would be “the hunted” after their results the past two seasons.
“I reckon it’s really even. I think Allansford and Nestles, they’ll be the two improvers. It’ll be whoever takes their chances,” he said.
“Merrivale the last two years have played in a grand final and a semi-final. Allansford will improve, they’re a pretty proud club and the same with Nestles.”
