Old Parks looking to get off to a derby flyer

4:35pm Thursday 8th May 2008

OLD PARKONIANS kick off their new season with a game against local rivals Epping on Saturday with an array of new talent on parade.

While Ed Buxton and Bilal Ashfaq both moved to Fives and Heronians, four players have moved to Oakfield as Old Parks bid to improve on their fifth-place finish last season.

Opening batsman Anoj Chopra as joined from Ilford, while left-arm seamer Amar Patel has come in from Premier League side Wanstead and Paul Robbins has rejoined the side after returning from university.

However the highlight of the transfer activity has to be the arrival of 19-year-old Australian Dan Rootes. The off-spinner has joined from New South Wales, where he emulated cricketing legend Steve Waugh by playing at an equal level at the same age, and Old Parks skipper Bob Curtis has set high goals for the young bowler.

"We're really hoping he can take 30 or 40 wickets for us this year," said Curtis.

"The outlook is very positive at the moment. We're confident that we can improve on last season's showing, especially with the new players we have."

Looking ahead to Saturday's Division Three crunch clash, Curtis was in defiant mood.

He said:"If we can put a total of around 175 on the board and bowl straight we'll be giving ourselves a good chance to win the game."

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