Jacobs has overseen a major overhaul of the club for whom Australian all-rounder Dan Frumar was the star performer last year.

The club have completed their preparations for the CVL and Jacobs believes they are “better prepared than ever for our opening game”.

He said: “As each year goes by, enthusiasm for winter nets grows. This year we’ve regularly filled up two nets and we have a solid core of young players who like to keep sharp during the off-season. That said, there’s no substitute for time out in the middle.”

Jacobs is confident the bowlers can sparkle as the club returns to a competitive format. “We won nine games last year, with a number of players contributing to what was our most successful season for quite some time,” he said.

“We’d love to win even more games this time around, but I appreciate we may have stiffer competition now that we’re playing league cricket again.

“We have a relatively young attack, so I’m looking forward to seeing their progression from last year as they gain more experience against higher quality opposition.

“However, equally important is the way we play our cricket and interact with one another. Our team spirit was very strong last year and I’m hoping to see more of the same this summer. We’d also like to introduce a greater social aspect to the club so that we can improve team bonding further.”

Having seen London Maccabi Vale climb through the divisions, BECC will be looking to follow their lead. “We’re cautiously optimistic ahead of the league campaign and are raring to go,” remarked Jacobs.

“We’ve grown accustomed to playing friendly games and competitive league cricket will create a fresh dynamic and bring new challenges. However, after our progress last season, it’s clear that we’re a club on the up and we know that if we play to our potential then we will more than hold our own.

“Our first league game is against Old Haberdashers, a team that we have close links to, so that should be an interesting one.”

New signings include Joshua Chaim Joshi, who “grew up in India and apparently is related to the former international cricket Ajit Agarkar”. Jacobs commented: “He’ll strengthen our top-order and also offers a useful off-spin option.

“Otherwise, we’ve had a few new faces at nets who we’re hoping will play a few games when the opportunity arises. We’ve also seen a lot of players returning to the club.”
Jacobs will be looking to Frumar to continue his fine form. “Dan is our star man; he hit almost 800 runs at an average of 61 last season,” said Jacobs.

“However, I’m excited about the young bowlers that we have coming through. We have two left-armers in Ben Tilley and Joe Saleh who really kicked on last season. Greg Mayer continues to improve and will have benefited from playing at the Maccabiah last year. Josh Reynolds and James Harvey also showed their potential, so let’s see what they can do with another season’s experience under their belt.”