TALENTED Terang all-rounder Ben Grinter will manage a back injury in the early stages of the South West Cricket division one season.
Grinter, 21, spoke to Victoria Premier Cricket clubs Footscray and Essendon, as well as Geelong club Grovedale, about a possible move before opting to stay with his home club.
“A month ago I decided to stay,” he said.
“I’ve had a bad back for 2½ months, so I thought I’d be better off here. It’s easier to maintain it here with a lighter training load.
“I had stress fractures when I was 15 and I thought it might have been the case again, but it’s just a bad strain.”
Grinter said he hadn’t shut the door on playing at a higher level.
“If an opportunity comes up elsewhere that suits, I’d look at it and assess the situation then,” he said.
Grinter, who scored three consecutive centuries in a purple patch last season, including a career-best 183 off 165 balls, said he was unsure whether he would play in round one against Camperdown next weekend.
“I haven’t had a hit yet,” he said.
“I will see how I progress through training.”
The back-to-back SWC cricketer of the year has stepped down from the Terang captaincy, with opening batsman Jay Wynd taking on the role for a second stint.
Wynd, 33, said Grinter still had a leadership role as the club’s vice-captain.
“He’s got a bit of an injury and might be a bit of a slow starter to the year, which is a bit of a shame,” he said.
A Terang veteran, Wynd captained the club’s division one side in 2009-10 and 2010-11.
“I was pretty keen to have another go at it,” he said.
“Even though it’s stressful at times, it is quite enjoyable too, especially when you get the rewards.”
Wynd said Terang wanted to make amends for its shock semi-final exit against Noorat last season. It went into the match favourite after finishing the season as minor premier.
“We were very disappointed in the game itself,” Wynd said.
“It was our worst game for a while and it happened to be in a cut-throat final.
“Hopefully we can turn things around a bit.”
Wynd said Terang was likely to lose left-handed batsman Oliver Fitzpatrick, but was excited about the development of teenager Brandon Bant.