ADCA 2023-24: Talented trio and rising juniors to spearhead Collingwood Park’s title bid in new season

Collingwood Park believe they can again challenge the very best teams in the competition with the addition of three talented players and further improvement from a group of rising juniors. Park enjoyed a strong campaign last season, losing the preliminary final of the 50-over competition to Royals by eight wickets and also reaching the Twenty20 grand final. The club has had to contend with a string of key player omissions, including fast bowler Josh Dallimore, key all-rounder Alex Garlick and international star Oliver Davidson. Park however will be boosted by the inclusion of two overseas players in Cameron Jones and Sam Keeling-Wright and former State under-19 representative and WA premier cricketer Michael Ferreira. The Albany and Districts Cricket Association granted a request for Park to field two overseas players in the same team, allowing exciting Worcestershire paceman Jones to join Old Hill seamer Keeling-Wright. Ferreira is no stranger to cricket in the region, having played here as a teenager before going on to have stints with Midland-Guildford and Fremantle at WA Premier Cricket level. Those key inclusions along with the growth of a host of impressive younger players have Park captain Brad Bootsma excited ahead of the 2023-24 season. “We’ve lost Alex and Ollie, who were huge for us,” he said. “The benefit for us is we’ve picked up two international players in Cam and Sam who are budding young cricketers and can hopefully fill the shoes of Alex and Ollie. “Jed Schwarzbach as well has committed to A-grade for the season so that local talent, that’s our future. “Michael Ferreira brings a wealth of knowledge as well and I’m looking forward to seeing what he can offer me with leadership as well.” Jones comes with big raps, having made his first class debut for Worcestershire in the One Day Cup this year. Ryan Davies departs to Royals while Rory Luscombe and Dallimore both won’t play this season. Davidson was Park’s top cricketer last season taking 29 scalps to go with 393 runs and despite him heading home to the UK, Bootsma believes his club can still contend for a premiership. “We’ll have a slight change in our side but I’m expecting us to improve again from where we were last year to this year,” Bootsma said. “We did last year and we’ve got to make sure we look after the young ones, give them opportunities and make them better players. “The aim will be to make sure we remain competitive this season. “To be honest we might have overachieved last year but in saying that I think we have a better team this year so we are aiming for something similar or better. “Our batting line-up will be stronger with the likes of Mike, Cam and myself plus kids like Devon and Jed, hopefully we can compete with the bat and post some bigger scores.” Park begin their campaign on Saturday with a clash at Turf North against Manypeaks. COLLINGWOOD PARK Captain: Brad Bootsma Last season: Third Most runs: Oliver Davidson (393) Most wickets: Oliver Davidson (29) Inclusions: Cameron Jones (Worcestershire), Sam Keeling-Wright (Old Hill), Michael Ferreira (Fremantle) Omissions: Alex Garlick, Oliver Davidson, Ryan Davies (Royals), Rory Luscombe, Josh Dallimore