Cromer Cricket Club's season gets under way on Saturday May 2 – with plenty of optimism in the ranks after a good winter on and off the pitch.

The addition of two new faces to an already competitive squad has prompted hopes of a decent campaign in the Premier Division of the Dipple and Conway Opticians Norfolk Alliance.

And plenty of hard-graft behind the scenes means the North Warnes Ground should look a picture when Cromer play host to Diss in the opening fixture of the 2015 campaign.

The club secured something of a coup by persuading David Turner to return to the club from Vauxhall Mallards, who play at a higher level in the Gibbs Denley East Anglian Premier League.

The batsman scored almost 500 league runs last term so will be an excellent addition to the team as they bid to improve on last's season's solid fourth place finish.

The line-up will be further strengthened by the signing of a new overseas player in the shape of 21-year-old Australian batsman Damien Sweet.

A replacement for South African all-rounder Bilaal Samsoodien, Sweet comes to north Norfolk highly recommended by Cromer's Michael Warnes, who played alongside him in grade cricket for Great Boulder CC in Kalgoorie, Western Australia.

'We are very excited to have David and Damien with us,' said Cromer CC chairman and youth development officer Kent Laws.

'When you add them to the good players we already have here there's a lot of optimism around the club and everyone here is really looking forward to the season getting under way.'

Off the field a new sponsor is in place, with The Grove restaurant in Cromer backing the club, while plenty of work has been carried out at the ground, with improvements inside the clubhouse and a new concreted area outside it.

The pitch has also come in for some tender loving care, with the club confident they have multiple strips more than worth of Alliance top flight cricket.