The up-and-coming outfit have lured former Killarney duo Anthony Martin and Joel Henry to the club, while former Camperdown captain Mitch McLaughlin has also signed the dotted line and will bolster the semi-finalist’s batting stocks.

They have also recruited former Brierly Christ Church star Ian Douglas, who has returned to the south-west after a stint in Perth.

Martin, a capable batsman-wicketkeeper, said an ambition to test himself in turf-wicket cricket had led him to East Warrnambool.

“I’ve been playing at Killarney for the past seven years and I thought I may as well come into town to give it a go while I’m still young,” he said.

“I’m more comfortable batting than bowling, but I don’t mind keeping either. We’ll see what Murph comes up with this season and see how I go.

“East have been deep into finals the last two years and apparently we’ve just been a couple of batsmen short. Now that we’ve picked up a couple of batsmen, hopefully we can go that one step further.”

Martin scored 173 runs in 12 innings last season to produce an average of 19.22, while Henry managed 273 runs at an average of 19.67.

McLaughlin scored 280 runs from 16 outings as the captain of Camperdown last season.

East Warrnambool coach Mark Murphy, who has led the club to consecutive finals series since crossing from Brierly in 2014, said he expected the new influx to rejuvenate his side.

“In the last two years we’ve had the same group, and I think bringing some new blood into the club is probably the key and gets everybody back up and about. Hopefully we can find some success with that,” he said.

“Over the past few years we’ve had a successful bowling team, and the runs we’ve probably lacked. To find three batsmen is always really handy, and the bowl a bit too. Ian Douglas probably provides a bit of both as well.

“To have what is basically four batsmen come into the side is really handy. Hopefully they can find themselves and make some runs in this competition.”

Although the club has been training for less than a month, Murphy said the Warrnambool and District Cricket Association premiership hopeful was shaping up well in the early stages of the pre-season.

He said the club was “buzzing” ahead of the approaching cricket season.

“Everybody has been really keen. They see the new faces and they all just lift and get around them,” he said.

“There’s a really good vibe around the club at the moment and everyone is excited for the season to start.”