Diss Cricket Club eyeing more emphatic survival in 2022

Diss Cricket Club’s season target remains the same as last year – to retain their Norfolk Cricket Alliance Premier Division status.

However, captain Lewis Taylor is hoping his side can achieve their goal in more emphatic fashion this time around.

Having been reprieved from relegation in 2019 and then seeing the following campaign wiped out by Covid-19, Taylor’s side got off to a flyer in 2021 and even topped the standings during the opening few weeks.

However, their form tailed off during the second half of the season to the point where they lost each of the final four fixtures.

Their positive start meant relegation was never a genuine concern, with two places and 31 points between themselves and the drop zone.

Yet, Taylor is keen to see Diss maintain their standards throughout the entirety of 2022.

He said: “We had a good start to last season, probably better than what we had hoped.

“Our form did tail off for sure. We lost our overseas and we’d achieved our main goal of staying up, so maybe there was a little bit of easing off.

“The ambition this year is the same – to make sure we stay in the Premier Division.

“But this year we are looking to finish the season well and if we can do that then we should be pushing more towards mid-table.”

While Taylor is keen to see improvement in all aspects of the game, one area he believes will be key to Diss enjoying a successful term is how well they operate in the field.

“We are always looking at fielding and how we can improve,” he added.

“In the Premier Division it’s a real key part of the game – sometimes more important than batting and bowling.

“If you field well it can save you 20 or 30 runs and often that is the difference between winning and losing.”

Diss, who have signed former West Indies youth international Mbeki Joseph as their overseas player and all-rounder James Harbour from Dereham during the off season, get under way tomorrow with a trip to Norwich (12pm).

And although losing would ‘not be the end of the world’, Taylor is mindful of what picking up maximum points on the opening day could do for team morale.

“It’s a key game. We won there last year and played really well,” said Taylor. “It’s only the start so it’s not the end of the world if we were to lose, but it’s always nice to start with a win.

“That will give us some real confidence and momentum heading into the second game at home against Fakenham.”