CARRICKFERGUS

Captain: CJ van der Walt
Overseas professional: Atish Varape
Players out: Sam Gordon, Alex Armstrong, Ashwin Shetty 

There was disappointment for Carrickfergus last year with their relegation from the top flight but a new season brings fresh hope and the chance for a reset and a promotion push back to the top echelons of NCU cricket.

Three players are off to pastures new - Sam Gordon, Alex Armstrong and Ashwin Shetty, while there's a new overseas player in Atish Varape who scored a mountain of runs in the division last year with Donacloney Mill.

CJ van der Walt boosted the Middle Road club by committing to them for the year ahead and the captain is hopeful of an immediate return to the Premiership.

"It is not ideal for us going down and never a nice feeling as I'm sure all the guys will still want to be playing Premier league cricket," said Van Der Walt.

"But we worked hard over this winter to get things back on track we will have a few young lads coming trough this year and we have a few senior players that will return this season. 

"We are all looking forward to hit the ground running and work our way back up to the top. Our ideal goal is to make things right and prove that we are good enough and want to be playing at the top level.

"But we will take it one step at a time, as I’m sure it won’t be just a walk in the park and now is a good time for our senior players to step up to take us back."

There's no doubt Carrickfergus will be one of the frontrunners for promotion and it wouldn't be too much of a surprise if Van Der Walt was lifting the Section One trophy come September.