Bowman brothers to lead Beavers' hopeful return to finals action

Tom, 26, and Mitch, 24, will co-coach and captain the Beavers' Warrnambool and District Cricket Association division one side in season 2019/20.

The all-rounders, who played all their juniors at the Walter-oval based club, said they had not originally thought of taking up the reins of the Beavers' top-grade side before the committee approached them.

"It (coaching) was not something that has been in the works for a while but when Sam McCosh stood down and they were looking around and then they asked us," Mitch said.

"I was surprised that myself and Tom were the best options at that stage as it was definitely not something we had thought about until they approached us.

"We were then pretty quick (to decide) as we have always been a part of Wesley since we were young."

Tom said the top-grade side was not far off returning to two-day finals action for the first time since the 2016-17 season.

"We finished second-last this season and we were 12 points off fourth," he said.

"If results went our way with the wash out against Merrivale, the draw against Russells Creek - where we needed extra runs to get over line - and the loss to Allansford, we go way closer to finals.

"We have the list and players available and we should be more competitive if we add a few more to add to our depth but we won't be looking to change a whole lot.

"We are always happy to add a few more (recruits) for our depth as we were hurt with injury and other commitments last season."

Tom confirmed former coach McCosh would be back again as a player in 2019-20 as one of many invaluable sounding boards for the brothers.

"He will slot in nicely and can play good cricket," the financial planner said.

"There will also be people around the club that we will be looking to bounce ideas off and tapping into experience and enhance our knowledge and get a smooth transition."

The Beavers finished last season with five wins, two draws and nine losses.

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