Coach Hancock hails “huge preseason numbers, the best I’ve seen” ahead of round one.

Excitement is building at 140 Garnett Rd with all six senior teams ready and raring for round one.

Mulgrave Cricket Club is set for a landmark weekend as all six senior teams take the field for round one of the 2025/26 season. Five men’s sides and, for the first time in club history, a women’s team.

The 1st XI will open their campaign in the Wright Shield, at home against Richmond City in a one-day match. After a stellar debut season that earned him selection in the Wright Shield team of the Season, Joe Brown returns for his second year, this time stepping into the role of vice-captain. 

“Re-signing Joe was our biggest priority in the off-season… making Joey vice-captain is a real commitment to him being part of our future and hopefully we have him here at Mulgrave for the next three to four seasons.”

The match will also see four debutants don the Mulgrave Baggy Blue - the English duo of Felix Venter and Zayn Khan from English Premier side the Preston Nomads, alongside Hugh Paulas and returning Mulgrave junior, Riley Shaw. Adding further to strengthen the lineup is Mitchell Traplin, making his long-awaited return following his four-year stint in Premier Cricket.
 

Head Coach, Mick Hancock made note of the impressive additions to the 1st XI, which have added to the depth of the entire playing group.

“Clearly recruiting has been on point this off-season, picking up a range of guys,” Hancock said. 

“What I’ve loved is the real competition for spots and it’s been proven by selection.”

The 2nd XI will make the trip to Boronia for their C-Turf opener, with a plethora of fresh faces eager to make an early impact. The 3rd XI resumes their start from last weekend defending a total of 405 runs, highlighted by twin centuries from Nicholas Leach and Shashika Don Wasalanthri.

Meanwhile, the 4th XI is looking to bounce back in LOC 2 after a difficult 2024/25 season.  This time around Harris Dimopoulos’ 4th XI are fielding a rejuvenated squad hungry to make a statement.

Sunday will see the 5th XI return to the Sunday Turf league playing away at Boronia, last being represented in the grade in 2023/24. The day will also mark a historic milestone, with the inaugural match for Mulgrave’s Women’s team, creating an exciting new chapter in the club’s history.

“The women’s program has been on our agenda for a couple years and to actually have it come to fruition this quickly and professionally has been an absolute bonus,” said Hancock.

With six teams in action and a renewed energy across all grades, the aim is to strive for success both on and off field.

“We want to continue to build a cricket club that’s based around community engagement and if we can stack wins along the way that’s a massive bonus,” said Hancock.