The 2023-24 Cricket Shepparton Haisman Shield was one of building blocks for Old Students.
The side lost access to rising star Ashton Young, with the high-end young talent committing to building his credentials within Victoria’s premier division last summer.
Evenly splitting the second half of their games for the season, the Students ended their campaign with a degree of momentum and a handful of encouraging signs.
Heading into the 2024-25 Haisman Shield campaign, the side, under new management through new head coach Vince Gagliardi, has made its first new signing.
Eighteen-year-old English paceman James Dunn has put pen to paper with the Kialla-based outfit, heading south for the summer out of the Lancashire pathway system.
The right-arm seamer has represented Chorley Cricket Club at league level, where he claimed 39 wickets across the 2022 and 2023 summer campaigns.
He replaces Mohammad Shahid, Old Students’ import from last season.
More recently, Dunn transitioned into the Lancashire fold as a student athlete, where he has continued to acquire solid form.
Going back to September, Dunn has claimed multiple wickets in four of his past five spells playing in the Lancashire second XI, in addition to time spent in the club’s under-19 ranks.
New boss Gagliardi says the club is highly encouraged by what it has seen of the youngster.
“He’s young and he’s full of enthusiasm, but one of the reasons he was an attractive prospect was that he’s just broken into the County twos,” Gagliardi said.
“It’s a fair effort at that age as he’s rising through the ranks in those programs.
“Initially, our club engaged with his agent, then Callan (McCabe) and I met with him and his father last week, and we were pretty happy with that outcome.
“I was happy with how he would fit our list profile; it’s a very young playing group and he ticks a lot of the boxes.
“A lot of clubs look like they’re adding more than one import, but we’re happy with our one and what we’ve got locally; what we’re after is development.”
Gagliardi and the other parties involved with this signing took more than on-field contributions into account, though.
“When you’re going to a different country, you want to have some support,” Gagliardi said.
“Part of his role will include helping with our juniors, as well as curating with our wicket.
“He’s well-credentialed for that age talent-wise and we’re looking at everything he can offer.
“What was more important for his family was that he can come to a club that helps him easily transition to Australia and we were able to tick that off for him.
“Everyone’s excited by it and seems quite on board. It’s a very united group.”