North Albury’s hopes of snapping its longest premiership drought in more than 20 years have received a boost with the potential return of two all-rounders.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Tom Hemsley will return from Surrey Hills in Melbourne for Saturday week’s two-dayer, while speculation is mounting Daniel Athanitis will also be back for the second half of the season.
“It just gives us another option with the ball, and Daniel’s experience, and Tom’s another young bloke in the field, it should get our side stronger I suppose,” opening batsman Ash Borella said.
Hemsley was at university, while Athanitis was out with a knee complaint.
It comes on top of the news yet another all-rounder, and one of the association’s best in Greg Daniel, will look to play consistently after missing a number of weeks.
“His performances this year have been outstanding for us,” Borella said.
“We couldn’t have asked for anything more from him, he’s done what we’ve wanted him to.”
Despite missing those matches, Daniel still sits third on the wicket-takers’s list with 21, at just 7.67.
He’s also seventh in the run-scoring with 256 at 51.20.
North bounced into third spot prior to Christmas with an outright win over Wodonga Raiders, Daniel claiming a rare 10 wickets in the match.
“It’s going to be huge, we obviously dropped a couple of early games in the one-dayers which probably hurt us,” Borella said.
“So to grab that outright just before Christmas has given us a real boost.”
Top-level cricket returns to Martin Park on Saturday for the first time in more than a decade.
The match starts at 1.30pm.
Wodonga has been outstanding, falling just once in leading the competition at Christmas.
And the club has done it without coach Nuwan Shiroman and boom opening batsman Andrew Weighell, who have both battled visa issues.
Veteran Robbie Jackson is also away with NSW Country duties.
“Obviously when he’s not there it’s a bonus,” Borella said.
“They obviously have somebody to replace him, so you go in thinking they’re going to do his job.”
Wodonga pipped North in a one-wicket thriller in round six.
North’s English import Ryan Addison posted an unbeaten 66, while the ultra-consistent Borella also struck a half-century.
But Wodonga got home on the back of a second successive score in the 90s from opener Lucas Hutchinson.
North hasn’t won a premiership since 2008-09, when it toppled Wodonga by six wickets.
