NEW Koroit cricket coach Dom Johnson can credit one of the greatest-ever players for growing his knowledge of the game.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
"Some time ago when I was living in Perth I was a net bowler for the Australian team and also the Indians when they toured," Johnson said.
"I was bowling to the Indian team one day and Sachin Tendulkar was standing around near the nets so I went over and had a talk to him.
"He was great, we just talked about cricket, he was very down to earth and he said what most cricket coaches would say, watch the ball and keep focused.”
Johnson brings leadership experience to his new role at Koroit having coached Dianella in the Perth Cricket Association.
He also played second grade district cricket while in Perth, bowling right-arm medium and batting in the top order.
He moved to Warrnambool last year and played with Purnim in the Grassmere Cricket Association where he was a member of the A grade team that made the semi-finals.
He replaces Mark Jones, who has moved to Merrivale, as coach, with the Saints coming off a disappointing 2014-15 where they finished bottom of the table in their division two conference.
The loss of Jones will be a significant one. He produced an outstanding season where he was named as the WDCA division two cricketer of the year. He took 35 wickets and made 440 runs to be the Saints’ dominant performer.
While Koroit remains the only club in the association without a division one team, Johnson is not going into the job with grand plans.
“When the Koroit job came up I saw it as a good chance to get back into coaching,” Johnson said.
“From what I can gather batting out 70 overs was a real issue for Koroit last year so that will be a focus.
“I have always been big on putting a lot of value on your wicket and building a long innings so hopefully we can do that consistently.
“With the ball the aim is to take 10 wickets, it sounds simple but you need a plan to do that and if you can do that then winning takes care of itself.
“I am not expecting magic results, my aim is for everyone at the club to improve this season, I know there are a lot of younger players and I will keep giving them the opportunity.”
Johnson is hoping to begin training indoors in late August and said the club was keen to hear from any past or new players who want to be part of the Saints’ journey in 2015-16.
Koroit’s last division two premiership was back in 2008-09 when they defeated Woodford.
Their last season in division one was in 2006-07, with the competition looking very different to what it does today. Back then Woodford and Port Fairy did not have division one teams while Portland Colts were part of the association.
The 2015-16 cricket season is expected to start the week after the AFL grand final.