New Diss Cricket Club captain Mark Brawn aiming for a more positive Norfolk Cricket Alliance Division One campaign

New captain Mark Brawn is keen to get everyone connected with Diss’ first team ‘enjoying’ their cricket again.

Since their relegation from the Norfolk Cricket Alliance Premier Division, the Rectory Meadow-based outfit have struggled to string together positive results on a consistent basis.

And last season was particularly tough as Diss finished second from bottom in Division One with just four victories from their 18 outings.

However, ahead of their season opener at home against Dereham tomorrow (2pm), Brawn is eager to see smiles back on faces, working with the mantra that a ‘happy team is a winning team’.

He said: “Last season was really tough, especially the second half of it.

“It’s like any sport, when you get in a rut it can be really hard to get out of it.

“I just want the boys to get back to enjoying playing their cricket because a team that’s enjoying itself tends to win more matches than it doesn’t. A happy team is a winning team and a winning team is a happy team.

“The club as a whole is going into the season in a good position. We’ve got our third team back so that the youngsters can be playing senior cricket on a regular basis, the twos are looking good and the early signs for the first team are positive.”

In terms of recruitment, Diss have added Damon Cresswell (Hethersett and Tas Valley) and Charles Duckmanton (Lowestoft) to their ranks.

Those are the only two new signings at present, and Brawn believes that both will have a positive impact.

“The early signs from both of them have been good,” said Brawn.

“It’s hard for us to recruit with the other teams we have around us, so it was a real positive that they both expressed an interest in joining us.

“They seem to have fitted in well on and off the pitch. We’re big on the social side of things at the club and I’m sure they’ll buy into that.”