Merrivale adds English import on eve of Warrnambool and District cricket season

The Tigers finished as minor premiers in the 2021-22 Warrnambool and District division one season before falling to eventual runners-up North Warrnambool Eels in the semi-final.

Despite going down in the thrilling semi-final clash - which was decided on the final ball of the match - the Tigers have wasted no time in figuring out what needed to happen to take the next step.

Captain-coach Justin Lynch told The Standard his group had identified where his list needed to be bolstered, adding Englishman Eddie Cole to the club in a major boost to the batting stocks.

"He's a big strapping lad, he can hit a big ball. He's coming off a really good year in England," he said.

"He arrived last week, and I've only seen him once at training with weather and I was crook as well but he's going to be a very handy acquisition to our side I reckon, he's a good player.

"Last year our biggest weakness was probably our opening batting, we fell away badly in games and it's an area that us as a coaching group decided we'd try and strengthen in the off-season.

"We tried a few at the top last season, it kind of worked in a way but it kind of didn't, so we needed to bolster that."

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Emerging pace bowling prospect Daniel Hawkins - an exciting local talent - has crossed over from Brierly Christ Church where he impressed with 15 division one wickets last season.

Hawkins is one of the WDCA's most exciting young players and a strong acquisition to the club, according to Lynch.

""We've worked on 'Hawk' for a while, it's good to get him over the line, he's mates with a lot of the guys," Lynch said.

"We think he'll take the new ball and he can hold the stick with us and slot in the middle order - in time we think he's got potential to even open in the two-day format of the game."

The two strong division one recruits will help offset the big loss of star bowler Jarrod Petherick, who is recovering from a serious knee injury, as well as Will Fleming who has moved to Noosa.

"(We're) still waiting back from the surgeon, but early diagnosis doesn't look too promising. Fingers crossed. He's running and tried to bowl but he's keeping upbeat at the moment," he said of his gun bowler.

"It's not ideal."

Improvement this season will come from the additions, but also the existing list with Lynch identifying promising batsman Flynn Wilkinson as one to keep an eye on, with the 18-year-old leftie considered a player who "can do everything".

The Tigers are also excited to see the continual development of Theo Opperman

"Flynn's maturing really well, it's a good opportunity for him to really concentrate on his senior cricket this year," he said. "He had a few back niggles so didn't bowl too much last year, but this year we're looking to really set him loose. He's a really good all-round cricketer.

"Him and Hawkins are really similar in many ways, and I've got a lot of faith those two can really strengthen us and put us beyond a semi-final.

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