Fresh blood has given new life to a Gore cricket team, leading them to the top spot, their captain said.
The Albion Gore Cricket Club are in first place in the second division league, leading up to their semifinal this weekend.
The team finished in fourth place out of eight last year and their comeback was due to a handful of new, younger players breathing life into the season, captain Matthew King said.
King said new player Corey Reed brought along his son Riley Reed, 14, who then attracted a whole bunch of teenage players to the team.
The captain’s own cousin, Kaleb Lloyd, 12, even had a game, dragging the age average down even lower.
King said the team had struggled to find numbers in the past.
"Last year I was calling on retired players ... it just wasn’t a good look."
This season, the team have been leading the race.
He said neighbouring club Wyndale, based at Menzies College in Wyndham, were another team to watch.
"If they get the right players together, they’ve got probably the best team in the competition," he said.
"It’s just I think they’ve got farmers and whatnot, so they can’t get the same people each week."
Wyndale captain Connor Poyntz-Roberts agreed that his team had been inconsistent while still "ticking away nicely".
"We just probably haven’t been able to put a full performance in," he said.
"One day the batting will be good, one day the bowling will be good."
Poyntz-Roberts said his team were still in third place and due to play Appleby this weekend.
King said Albion Gore would most likely play Central Western in the semifinal on Saturday at 12.30pm at Hamilton Park, but they were not guaranteed the win yet.
"We could win, we could be knocked down in the semifinal," he said.
"We’ll celebrate when it’s all done."
