Morale high in Perth Doo'cot camp ahead of season opener, says coach Usman Saeed

dailyrecord.co.uk:

Perth Doo’cot Cricket Club begin their SPCU North East Championship campaign on Saturday afternoon.And coach Usman Saeed is planning for the home opener against Arbroath to set the tone for the rest of the season.Preparations have gone very well with Saeed overseeing well-attended net sessions as well as three confidence-boosting friendly victories against Renfrew, Stenhousemuir and Falkland.Youngster Tassawar Hussain is set to be an important player with bat and ball after two interrupted seasons and much will be expected of him, along with his brother, Musakhar, who has enjoyed success in the friendlies.A new addition is Babar Ali, who has an excellent background from cricket in Pakistan and is now studying at nearby Dundee University.There is still the prospect of an overseas amateur from India but that will not be in place for this weekend.The batting line-up has certainly been bolstered over the winter and, with last year’s strong bowling attack all returning, hopes are high that the first XI will challenge in the top half of the league.Ahead of welcoming Arbroath to Doo’cot Park, Saeed told the PA that morale in the camp is certainly high.“To be honest I wasn’t just looking for results in the friendlies,” he explained.“Yes, we got them and that is very good for the morale.

What matters is how we now do in the league matches.“But our morale is high, we have a decent team and the youngsters are coming in.

It’s going to be fun this year.“I think this is the seventh year I have come here and now the team is a stronger one. Cricket is a team game and we will perform as a team.”Saeed continued: “The first game is always important and that sets the tone.“In the second game we then come up against Freuchie, who have a