THE FLY SLIP

WRITTEN BY CHRIS REID

August

2013
New Coach And New Players = Big Goals And Huge Potential
The 2013/14 season sees a changing of the guard with Mark Tulloch replacing Nazeem Smith as premier coach. Mark joins us from the North Shore Cricket Club and was identified as someone that possessed the necessary skills to help move our premier side forward. Mark comes with an excellent pedigree which includes age group honours with Queensland cricket, Auckland As, and the wider Wellington squad. Mark also captained a championship winning Cornwall side at the tender age of 21 so he knows what it takes to win. Mark will be an active playing member of the premier side and is coming off a 560 run and 21 wicket season. The club has also been busy looking to bolster our playing stocks with the recruitment of former Auckland Aces batsman Gene Andrews, talented young all-rounder Raja Sandhu, and overseas import Matt Cottrell who will be joining us from the Milford club in England. Gene joins us also from the North Shore Cricket Club and returned to cricket last season after taking a number of years off and performed solidly with a 38 run average. Gene is one of the highest profile players the club has ever recruited having played 5 games for Auckland back in 2005/06 before taking 5 years off from the game. Raja is a 21 year old fast bowler perhaps best known for the hat trick he took against Waitak in a T20 game last year. Raja is a raw talent with natural pace and would be up amongst the quickest bowlers in Auckland. Matt Cottrell is a close personal friend of our long time overseas professional Aaron Jeavons and joins us from our sister club Milford in England. Matt is a batting all-rounder who bats anywhere from 3 to 6 and is in the middle of a breakout season and is currently the fourth leading run scorer for his club in premier cricket. The club would like to welcome all our new recruits and wishes them the best for the season ahead.

New Sponsors Signal The Start Of A New Era

The Waitakere Cricket Club has come an awful long way in the last year or so. At this point last year our senior teams had no sponsors of note, which certainly made things difficult. What a difference a year can make! With the appointment last season of Barfoot & Thompson Te Atatu and Vernon Logistics as principal sponsors of our club in conjunction with Cricket Express we were able to improve our status as a principal club significantly. The 2013/14 season sees the continuation of all the before mentioned sponsors with the addition of New Balance as our new naming rights sponsor for the premier side along with Arc Recruitment, and Boot It Fitness as principal sponsors. It goes without saying that the appointment of these new sponsors and the continuation of our existing relationships is massive for the club. The extra funding and support this will bring will allow us to implement new initiatives that will aid us significantly in our quest to win the Tom Hellaby two day championship. New Balance joins us as they make their first venture into the world of cricket. They have recently launched a range of cricket gear including bats, shoes, pads and gloves and currently sponsor the likes of Jonathan Trott, Dale Stein, James Pattinson, Mitchell Mcclenaghan and former WCC player Ronnie Hira. Arc Recruitment is a boutique IT recruitment agency owned and operated by our very own premier reserve coach Chris Reid. Boot IT Fitness is another close to home sponsor belonging to our new premier coach Mark Tulloch. Boot IT have been providing free fitness sessions to our premier squad and will also be sponsoring the warm up apparel for the season ahead. The Waitakere Cricket Club would like to thank and welcome all our sponsors.

THE FLY SLIP

WRITTEN BY CHRIS REID

August

2013
Rep Honours For Our Young Guns
The future of WCC looks to be in very good hands with a number of our youngsters gaining selection in ACA and Western Districts under 18 winter academies. Our very own version of the Waugh twins, Amit and Adi Dhadwal, have once again been selected for the ACA winter academy. This is a great result for Amit & Adi following on from their selection in the Auckland Secondary Schools eleven late last season for which Adi was the captain. We have also had no fewer than eight players selected for the Western Districts under 18 winter academy. The club would like to congratulate the following players Navan Lombard, Jack Windler, Jared Challis, Dylan Lombard, Ben Lister, Travis Ngatai, Damian Stephen, and Saumani Tiai on their selection.

Preseason Begins And A Tour Beckons

Its that time again and pre-season is here. The premier squad has already been undergoing gruelling Sunday fitness sessions for the last month under the watchful eyes of new coach Mark Tulloch. Our indoor sessions are once again to be held at the Suburbs New Lynn indoor facility kicking off on Monday the 19th of August from 7pm till 9pm. The schedule for this season will be slightly different with the premier squad undergoing a shorter but more intense pre-season spanning six weeks with two sessions per week. The start of the season proper will be intersected by a new initiative in the form of a pre-season tour where our Premier and Premier Reserve sides will be travelling to Whangarei to play the City Cricket Club over two fixtures spanning the 21st and 22nd of September. This should serve as not only a great tune up for both sides but also an opportunity for the boys to bond prior to what we hope will be a hugely successful season. Pre-season for our grade sides and Premier Womens side is also confirmed to be held at the Suburbs facility beginning on the 8th of September from 7pm till 9pm.

First Class Honours For Two Of WCCs Finest

We have once again been represented at the first class level by Anaru Kitchen with the Auckland Aces and Samantha Curtis with the Auckland Hearts. Anaru is now a senior member of the Auckland side and has been justly rewarded with one of the 13 ACA contracts. Samantha is set to again play a major role for the Hearts and continue on the form that saw her selected in the wider 30 man White Ferns squad. On behalf of the club we would like to congratulate both Anaru and Samantha on their achievements and we wish them all the best for the season ahead.

THE FLY SLIP

WRITTEN BY CHRIS REID

August

2013
Top 10 With Raja Sandhu
What is your nickname and why? Skuxx because of the way I dress on and off the field. Why the move to Waitakere? The Club's moving in a great direction and I felt that my skills set would synchronize well with the team. Proudest cricket moment? Taking 14 wickets in a 2day game against Birkenhead 3 years ago. Who is the best batsman you have bowled to in club cricket? Jeet Raval If you could be any cricketer who would you be and why? Right now, I'd love to be MS Dhoni. His leadership and the ability to win games (and also the money he earns!) just makes me want to step into his shoes and experience it first hand! Goals for the season? Winning the Trophy for the club and hopefully sneak in a couple games for the Aces What are your long term career goals? NZ's the dream! Entrance song when coming out to bat? Nas- I Can Favorite movie? Bad Boys 2 What is your best skill outside of cricket? Teaching. Love helping kids

In The Air
AGM: Annual General meeting of the Waitakere Cricket Club Inc. will be held at 2pm on Sunday 25th August 2013 at the Te Atatu Tavern, Pringle Rd, Te Atatu Peninsula. Nominations for office bearers are to be made in writing to the Secretary and received by 22nd August 2012. Hon Secretary Robyn Dixon (Robyn_ken@vodafone.co.nz) Premier Squad Pre-Season: Every Monday and Wednesday from 7pm to 9pm starting from the 19 th of August at the Suburbs New Lynn Indoor Facility Grade Squad & Premier Womens Pre-Season: Starting Sunday the 8th of September from 7pm to 9pm at the Suburbs New Lynn Indoor Facility