West Warrnambool Cricket Club has enjoyed a recruiting coup with four fresh faces set to join the Panthers for the 2019/20 Warrnambool and District Cricket Association season.
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Top order bat Tom Mahony, who recently won an under 17 WDCA premiership with the Panthers, has joined the senior squad after playing nine division one matches for Port Fairy last season.
Mahony, an apprentice at the Warrnambool Golf Club, averaged 24 runs from his seven junior level games with West Warrnambool.
Ryan McArdle has crossed to Davidson Oval from Wesley CBC, where he averaged 20.3 runs from his 15 division one matches in the 2018/19 season.
Vic Country representative Fletcher Cozens has joined from the Grassmere Cricket Association's Hawkesdale.
The talented teenager made an unbeaten 22 in the Cats' 2019 grand final win over Yambuk, while also taking 2-10 off eight overs with the ball.
Top order bat Charlie Blacker has also joined from Allansford, where the teenager averaged 15.1 runs in the 2018/19 season, including an impressive knock of 66 in round 16 against East Warrnambool YCW.
West Warrnambool narrowly missed a finals berth in the 2018/19 WDCA season, finishing sixth with eight wins and eight losses, but senior Panthers coach Alastair Templeton said he hoped Mahony, McArdle, Cozens and Blacker could help put the division one side back into finals contention.
"I don't think we were lacking in talent, we just wanted to make sure we're a little more polished," he said.
"We need to bridge that gap between the bad days and the good ones.
"The recruits should add a lot of depth to our batting and I don't think you can ever have too many blokes ready to pick up the slack with the bat."
West Warrnambool's annual general meeting will be held at the Flying Horse on June 12 from 7pm.
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