LUKE Wilson says Brierly-Christ Church can embrace the pressure of being the hunted as rival clubs relish the test of knocking off the reigning premier.
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The Bulls' title defence had a rocky start, suffering a shock two-run loss to Dennington this past Saturday.
But Wilson, the club's young wicketkeeper, believes it was nothing more than a blip.
"We have a lot of confidence. We know we're going to be the hunted but we're up for the fight," he told The Standard.
"We've just got to keep working on little things and getting better.
It was different. I don't think I've ever stood back that far before as a wicketkeeper.
- Luke Wilson on facing Geethal Fernando
"The competition has really evened up this year and is looking pretty strong so we're just going to have to be on our game."
Bowling sundries were among the most pressing issues in the Bulls' round one performance.
The side threw down 25 extras - including 20 wides and four no balls - in the loss.
But for the negatives, there were as many positives. New signing Geethal Fernando, a Sri Lankan prospect who joined from Melbourne in the winter, looked sharp and clinched 2-16 from five overs.
Jason Greer - an evergreen spinner - claimed 3-9 off nine overs while youngster Daniel Hawkins broke through for his first division one dismissal.
Wilson said Fernando - regarded internally at Brierly-Christ Church as one of the competition's fastest bowlers - was a promising prospect.
"It was different. I don't think I've ever stood back that far before as a wicketkeeper," Wilson laughed.
"They were coming in pretty hard. It was good. It was exciting to watch.
"I think he'll trouble a few batsmen, just with his sheer pace, I guess. There's not too many with pace like that, it's something different."
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Wilson's wicketkeeping goals are simple - be clean.
"It's just about that all year. That's about it really," he said.
"I want to be able to lift those around me. I'd like to build my batting too.
"I just want to spend some more time in the middle and work on a couple of things I guess. Rotating the strike and allowing the people around me to hit the boundaries and score." Brierly-Christ Church will play Merrivale on Saturday.
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Nick Ansell
Nick Ansell is a sports journalist at the Warrnambool Standard.
Nick Ansell is a sports journalist at the Warrnambool Standard.
