THE HILLS

There's little change at Milverton where the current Bob Kerr Irish Senior Cup holders will go into the season full of confidence after their capture of the "Holy Grail" last season.

Captain Naseer Shaukat is justifiably upbeat about the 2013 prospects for the team saying: " Division One in Leinster is a tough league with any one of the eight teams capable of beating anyone else on their day.

"From our perspective we will take great strength and heart from the successful season last year. We proved that on any given day we are a formidable side and if you have thoughts of winning the league you will have to beat the current all Ireland champions to do so.

"We have a good bowling attack with Osama Khan coming in which will add another angle for us. All this backed up with an aggressive and athletic fielding unit.

"We feel that with the experience gained by Johnno Andrews and Cormac McLoughlin last season,  they can join Mike Baumgart, Max Sorensen, Darryl Calder and a strong mid to late batting order that is capable of setting or chasing down totals.

"We are ready for another adventure and with a bit of luck and of course the cricket gods on our side the Vineyard will again be the place to be this year."

There's no doubt that Nic Pretorious will be all the better for a season in Irish conditions under his belt and if he can score heavily then his side mightn't be too far away in the trophy quest stakes. With their formidable and varied bowling unit they will always be ultra competitive.