Recruits lift Pies’ prospects for finals

Denmark Cricket Club have bolstered their chances of playing finals in the Albany Cricket Association A-grade competition this season with the acquisition of two talented recruits.

Former Perth Scorchers development rookie Hayden Collard will open the bowling for the Magpies while English recruit Jujhar Johal is expected to boost the team’s batting stocks.

Collard is a right-arm paceman who has represented WA in the Imparja Cup and played for Dowerin in the Wyalkatchem Cricket Association last season.

Magpies captain Dan Robson said Collard would inject much- needed speed into the side’s bowling attack.

“Hayden will be a good addition with the bat and the ball and we’re really looking forward to having him on board,” he said

“He’ll add some real strength to our bowling department and provide us with some genuine pace, which is probably something we lacked a little bit last year.”

Johal, 18, is an English import of Indian descent who hails from Birmingham and is part of the Worcester development academy.

Robson indicated the young talent would open the batting.

“Jujhar will be our opening batsman and he can also bowl some spin for us too,” he said.

The Magpies lose all-rounder Adam Falls for work reasons while former opening bowler Brad Stewart will not play for the second straight season because of an ongoing knee injury. Left-arm swing bowler Matt Ellul has returned to the Magpies after spending the winter in England.

After finishing last in the 2016-17 season, the Magpies are bullish their off-season additions will push them into contention for finals, according to Robson.

“We showed last year we can be competitive — we beat Manypeaks a couple of times and we showed some good signs,” he said

“Adding some extra polish to our batting and our bowling stocks will allow us to push for finals.

“We need to finish right up there and then we can push further — we finished third a couple of years ago so we’re not far off.”