“These are exciting times.”

Those are the words of Bourton Vale Cricket Club captain Charlie Garratt as he looks ahead to the new season.

And it’s easy to see why there is such optimism at a club whose flagship side play in the Gloucestershire Division of the West of England Premier League.

There’s been a huge upgrade in the club’s facilities at Rissington Road, they will be running three adult teams on Saturday afternoons for the first time after merging operations with nearby Slaughters United and they have signed an overseas player who they hope will have a big impact in the coming season.

The overseas player is an all-rounder, Australian Mitch Winter-Irving, a right-handed batsman who can play in the top four and a left-arm seamer who is a new-ball bowler.

A secondary school teacher in his late 20s, he comes with plenty of cricketing experience and Garratt is confident he will be a major player this season.

“I played against him when I was playing cricket in Melbourne four years ago,” said the 27-year-old, who will skipper Bourton for a third season. “And with Ash Jones being available this season after coming back from Australia we feel like this is a good time.

“Mark Whitney got a lot of runs last season and if I can do my bit I feel we should be pushing on towards the top of the table.”

Jones is a top order batsman who is also a good enough bowler to take the new ball and clearly provides plenty of options for Garratt, who admitted: “I’m spoilt for choice.”

The experienced Whitney, meanwhile, scored more than 500 runs batting at three and if he can produce the same again Garratt said “it will stand us in good stead”.

That’s certainly the hope of hardworking chairman Kevin Langley as he looks for the club to push on and in Charlie Garratt he certainly has someone who is singing from the same hymnsheet.

“We’ve got new facilities, an extra team and some good players, it’s time to put in the performances that reflect that,” Garratt added.

Among those ‘good players’ is the ever impressive Max Shepherd, the teenaged left-arm spinner who is very much part of Gloucestershire’s junior set-up.

“He had another exciting season last season and hopefully he can build on it,” said Garratt. “He nearly always comes on first change and if he’s not taking wickets he is tying an end up.

“He’s only 15 or 16 but he’s got a huge part to play.”

Bourton finished seventh in the 10-strong division last season but they were only 11 points adrift of fourth-placed Hatherley and Reddings, who they host on day one of the new campaign, in what was a very congested middle of the table.

“There are some very strong sides and it’s a very competitive division,” said Garratt. “Everybody can beat everybody and I don’t think any team will run away with it.

“But there’s a huge amount of positivity around the club and I’m going into this season looking forward to it more than I have done for a while.”