ST Andrew’s Cricket Club has a new man at the helm to guide the A grade team through the Hamilton and District Cricket Association (HDCA) 2022-23 season.

Russell Elton has taken over the captaincy after Brendan Huf stepped down as skipper at the end of last season.

Club president, Darryl Fry said Elton’s vast experience held him in good stead to take over the role.

 “He has 25 years’ experience at the A grade level both here in the HDCA and in the Sale Maffra Cricket Association and this was a major factor in his appointment.”, he said.

“Russell made a huge and immediate contribution to St Andrews when he joined the club last season.

“His right-arm off spin strengthened his reputation as one of the best bowlers in the top grade, taking 25 wickets to finish second on the wicket takers list for the competition.

“His positivity was infectious, and he quickly embraced his new club and teammates.”

Elton takes over from Huf, who has led the club for the past seven seasons, who now takes a step back but will remain in the leadership group within the team, while also commanding his place at the top of the order as one of the best batsmen in the region.

Huf’s vast experience at not only at A grade level, but also in premier cricket for Melbourne Cricket Club is something the club could not afford to lose.

Elton moved to St Andrews last season after transferring from Grampians at the start of the 2018-19 summer, but he has had stints at five HDCA clubs at the highest level (St Andrews 21/22, Grampians 18/19-20/21, Byaduk 11/12-17/18, St Marys 08/09-09/10 and Tarrington 06/07-09/10).

Within the HDCA, he has captained at the highest level for Byaduk, but his knowledge base is vast, and he is a player who loves nothing more than to attack, especially with the ball in hand with 262 wickets and 1855 runs (with one top grade ton) to his name.

After winning an A grade premiership with the Pumas, Elton was looking forward to playing under Huf at club level after doing so at representative level when he made the decision to transfer.

 “I never imagined when I joined St Andrew’s at the start of last season that I would be taking on the A grade captaincy,” he said.

 “I was thinking I would be playing out my A grade career under Brendan and when he announced he was stepping down, I was surprised but could understand.

“Seven years is a long time to be in any role in a sporting club and he more than deserves a break.”

As an off-spin bowler, his tendency to attack the batsmen with a mixture of guile, pace changes and spin

Elton will have support both on and off the field with the likes of Huf and Damien Logan (both premiership winning A grade captains), while Simon Hatherall has been appointed as his vice-captain, but he will be his own man.

“I cannot be happier with his appointment, as I think he and I will work well together,” Elton said.

“With his positive mindset and great cricket brain, he makes the perfect off sider for me to bounce ideas off.”

Having coached the club’s Under-16 team last summer, Elton got the best view of the youngsters and lower grade players who could force their way into the top grade this season.

“Dale Harris had a great year in B Grade, and I think he will be ready to step up with the ball in the top grade and his hard-hitting batting would be a handy inclusion at the bottom of the order, while Nathan Caruana could play a bigger role with both bat and ball this season,” he said.

“The club has so many talented juniors and if needed I could look towards the likes of Fraser Hill or Rylan Pech to make their debut in the top grade and get some valuable A grade experience.”