GOATACRE have turned to an overseas player for the first time in their history in order to maintain their Premier Two status.

With captain Brad Dawson leaving in the winter for Chippenham, Goatacre have put their trust in Zimbabwean all-rounder Tendai Maruma.

The 22-year-old is a bright prospect in his home country and earned a call-up to the Zimbabwe A side for the ICC Africa Cup in September last year.

New skipper Ed Wilkins is excited by the arrival of the young player and hopes he can fill the boots of Dawson.

“Brad will be a big loss,” he said.

“He was our leading wicket taker last year and catching in the slips and on his day a top batsman as well.

“We have gone down the route of an overseas player for the first time.

“He is not getting over here until just before the first game so we have not had a chance to see him play yet, but looking at his credentials he is a top order batsman and spin bowler.

“We are looking for him to come in, and although it is going to be a bit of a different culture, we’ll want him to bat in the top five and score a lot of runs and pick up a few wickets as well.

“This is the first time ever and with the league restructuring after this year, if we finish rock bottom this year we will actually drop down below a lot of the teams who are in the league below us.

“We wanted to make sure we didn’t finish bottom this year so we just felt like we had to bring in something new.

“I think we have been in Premier Two for three years now and we have always held our own so if we can get mid-table and continue playing at this level then I think we will be happy.”

Wilkins admitted that being made captain was taken out of his hands after Dawson left but is hoping to take the responsibility on and bring some new blood into the side.

“I now have the responsibilities of picking the team for Saturday, the team I think is best for that day, and I will be looking to bring a bit of youth in this year,” he added.

“We have had a couple of guys who are getting on a bit and as well as they perform it is time to start phasing them out a little bit and start looking at some new guys and really look to consolidate our position in the league we are in.”