Sudbury Cricket Club Paddy Sadler looking to build on positive third-placed finish in 2023 Thurlow Nunn East Anglian Premier League season

They may not have been able to get out on the grass for training purposes until this week but Paddy Sadler believes his Sudbury side are in good shape to attempt to re-create their positive 2022 campaign.

Under their new captain the Talbots bounced back from a fall from grace after the newly-sponsored Thurlow Nunn East Anglian Premier League (EAPL) returned in 2021, having gone from a fourth-from-bottom ninth-placed finish to third last term.

The club who carried off the EAPL in successive seasons in 2017 and 2018 head into Saturday’s rain-delayed start to the current campaign looking to continue their return to where they believe they should be.

“We’ve had quite a stable winter and we are keen to build on what we did last and I think it was important to keep all of our most important players, and I think we look good,” said Sadler, whose side open up at home to newly-promoted Wisbech Town on Saturday (11am).

“We’ve obviously got Jordan (Morris, overseas professional) in and a young lad in Isaac Tombs who was at Hadleigh before and is really keen to make an impression.

“And I think guys like those and Alex Quin, who has obviously played for us for a number of years now but is still young, bring a lot of energy and determination, which complements the experienced side we’ve got.

“I think we’ll try to go under the radar a little bit keeping working as hard as we can like last year and hopefully guys will have similarly successful individual seasons and it will mean we do well again.

“But it is a competitive league and it’s always a competitive league so we’ll know we have to start well and every game you can win or lose, so we’re looking forward to it.”

He said South African all-rounder Morris, 24, has settled in well since his arrival earlier this month.

“He played at Bury (friendly) and played in Sunday’s game (against Colchester & East Essex) and has been training. He has been good.

“He’s keen to prove his worth and I think he will bring something else to our bowling attack.

“I think he’s got a bit more pace than the rest of the seamers so hopefully that’ll give us a bit more of a cutting edge and a strike bowler to get important wickets and breakthroughs when we need it.

“I think he’ll be a really good addition and also with the bat as well as he will bat in the middle order somewhere.”

Sadler has a full squad to choose from for their opening 50-over-a-side fixture against Wisbech at Friars Street on Saturday but has said their female overseas player, Emily Cunningham from New Zealand, is likely to start with the IIs.

It will be the second season running they have got under way at home to a newly-promoted side and Sadler feels that they will certainly not be in for an easy ride.

“It’s their first game at this level so they’ll be really up for it,” he said.

“We don’t know a huge amount about them but we know they came through a really tough play-off process against Halstead and Fakenham who are obviously good sides. We had the same last year as we had Witham on the first game and it was a really hard game especially because of their enthusiasm and desire to do really well after coming up.”