The Hills Cricket Association (HCA) season gets underway this Saturday with seven teams vying for the Von Doussa Shield in the A1 competition. Uraidla have dropped to the A2 grade meaning each club will have two byes and play 12 games.There will be 10 teams in the A2 competition and seven teams in A3. The Under 16, Under 14 and Under 12 competitions will commence from Friday 18 October.

Aldgate are the reigning ‘A’ grade premiers after a nail-biting one-wicket victory over Meadows in the Grand Final. Meadows were gunning for an incredible 10th straight title but were edged out in a last ball thriller by the ‘Gaters’ who claimed their first ‘A’ Grade flag in 15 years. Aldgate has kept the nucleus of their premiership team together and will again be led by dual ‘Cricketer of the Year’ Jake Turnbull. Meadows has been bolstered by the return of Brad Dawe after a season at Sturt District Cricket Club and Dawe has been appointed skipper as Rohan Reid steps aside after a highly successful tenure. The Bulldogs boast a powerful batting lineup and will once again be right in the hunt for the flag.

Stirling have made the semi-finals for the past two years and will look to go a step further this season. The Eagles have Jacob Gonzalez returning after a year off and have picked up Kosta Sinodinos from Sturt. Mount Lofty also made the semi-finals last season and will go into the 2019/20 season with a familiar lineup led by Jordan Neis-Beer, who led the Redcaps batting last season with 382 runs. He will look for support from all-rounder James Kittel-Neill and opening bowler Adam Carthew. Flagstaff Hill missed the finals last season for the first time since moving to the HCA back in 2014/15 and they’ll be looking for sharp improvement during this campaign. Gun all-rounder Kyle Petty will again lead the Falcons and he’ll be looking for support from the talented Will Goulding and the ever reliable Jacob Lemon. 

Bridgewater made a good fist of their first season back in A1 competition after a six-season absence from the top flight and just missed out on a finals berth on the last day of the season. Veteran bowler Simon Donaldson has returned to play with Port Elliot while youngster Jamie Drew is recovering from a back injury. Jackson Hooper will captain the Raiders again and they have been buoyed by the return from Mypolonga of Adam Eckerman who last played for the club in the 2011/12 season when Bridgewater reached the Grand Final. Kangarilla has steadily improved over the past two seasons and are well led by all-rounder's Che Martinsen and Steven Featherstone. The club has also been busy in the search for recruits and have signed a number of new players including Cole Davy from Southern Districts who made his ‘A’ grade debut last season for the Stingrays.

This week’s A1 fixtures are 40-overs per side one-dayers (home team named first)…..

Bridgewater v Aldgate

Meadows v Kangarilla

Stirling v Flagstaff Hill

Mt Lofty has the bye