Top five has Beavers confident

Can the Eaton Beavers go one better than their semi-final spot of last season?

With a top five the envy of any country club in the State, glittering with former WA Country XI players and Bunbury and Districts Cricket Association champions, the Beavers will give themselves a strong chance of getting off to a winning start against Dalyellup Beach at Dalyellup College on Saturday.

The only man to play in each of the BDCA’s three WA Country Cricket Association trophy triumphs, Glen Dehring, has been training the house down for months, and together with stars Arron Quartermaine and Clint Hewson, Mick Rogers and ex-WA Country representative James Hillary, there is a steely determination to rise further up the ladder.

With the new culture and belief instilled from the most successful skipper in WA Country history, Dehring, who defected from Marist last season to spark Eaton’s quantum leap from a winless wooden spoon to fourth place before it bowed out to the Blues in the first semi-final.

But the opposition will not be easy.

Dalyellup Beach has lost Paul Millar to the Beavers and damaging top order lefthander Tony Dauto Colts, as well as Sri Lankan spinner Madura Weerasinge-Silva.

But the Settlers still boast a solid batting top order of WA Country XI openers Tim Cooper and Justin Woods, followed by Mat Fink, skipper Ben Lagana and CarlWicksteed— a quintet tough to dislodge by any local bowler.

Veteran BDCA president Peter Grygorcewicz, Clarrie Bilston, former Dardanup skipper Ben Cooper and possibly former skipper Mat Robinson and Grant Eikelboom will fill the lower spots in a clash which appears too close to call.

Meanwhile, Collie will venture down the hill to start its BDCA campaign with a premiership in its sights after losing last year’s grand final to Colts.

But the Coalminers could be in for an inauspicious start in their clash with Hay Park at Hay Park East, with several players likely to be missing.

Collie skipper Blair Malatesta, Will Cleggettand Jeb Swallow are also Collie Eagles’ football stars and unlikely to front for the Redbacks’ matchto preparethemselves for Sunday’s South West Football League grand final replay.

Last season’s grand finalists will, however, still be well represented should the rest of its BDCA grand final line-up be available for the clash, with pacemen James Sprague, Paul Bebbington, Rhett Williamson. Seth White and Mark Williams to attack a Hay Park team that will also be much changed from last season.

The most notable absence for the Redbacks will be two-time defending BDCA Cricketer of the Year Jono Whitney, who has not returned from England.

This match should be as close as the corresponding fixture last season, in which the Redbacks edged out the Coalminers by four runs.