When Dean Minors took up player/coaching duties at Flatts two seasons ago his mandate was to inject some sparkle into the once-mighty club.

And judging by his team’s eight-wicket demolition of league champions Southampton Rangers at Southampton Oval last weekend, Minors and his supporting cast would appear to be well on course.

Yet rather than get ahead of himself or allow his players to be lured into thinking they have already arrived, Minors has gone to great lengths to try and keep his troops grounded and focused on the bigger picture.

“Obviously it was a big win. But I think it’s way too early to begin celebrating because we are basically just trying to put different objectives in place and play basic cricket. We already know what we hope to achieve at the end of the season and really it’s now a matter bringing the potential that already exists at the club to the fore,” the World Cup veteran said.

“We don’t want to get over the moon with the win. But at the end of the day it was a memorable moment for me as a coach and I feel blessed to have been a part of it. There were a lot of positive things that we were able to take away from the game. We were able to achieve a lot of things that we had set out to achieve and so that actually proved that we can achieve some of the things we have been discussing.”

That Flatts comfortably disposed of Rangers in their own back yard owed much to the heroics of player/coach Minors and slugger James Celestine who together shared in an unbroken 146-run third-wicket stand that carried the Smith’s Parish club to victory after skipper Rahji Edness and Kijuan Franks had earlier done the damage with the ball.

“We have a very mature team who are willing to take and try new information. And I think that with the belief system, ability and enthusiasm already instilled in the team we can achieve realistic goals this year,” Minors said.

Flatts travel to Lords today to take on Somerset in their first Two-Day encounter of the season, a contest Minors intends to use to blood a few new faces.

“We just want to experiment with a few other players that did not get the opportunity to play last weekend. So there will be some changes made to the team,” said Minors, who will sit the weekend out. “We are looking to mix it up a bit.”

With enthusiasm currently high in the camp, Minors is encouraged to see good numbers attending weekly practise sessions. And with team stalwart Derek Wright due to return shortly, the veteran wicketkeeper/batsman feels his side can get even better.

While he also played a major role in his team’s big win over Rangers, Minors chooses instead to give the credit to the hard-hitting Celestine who appears to be rounding into good form with the bat.

“His knock was absolutely incredible. He hit the ball very cleanly and always looked out for the singles. I thought his innings was absolutely amazing,” the Flatts coach said.

“That particular knock was the standard of batting we are hoping to achieve this year at Flatts — it was just an awesome knock.”

In remaining weekend Two-Day encounters, St.George’s host St.David’s at Wellington Oval, Western Stars welcome Social Club to St.John’s Field, Devonshire tackle Leg Trappers at Devonshire Rec, Willow Cuts lock horns with Warwick at Somerset Cricket Club while PHC take on visiting Cleveland at White Hill Field.

Southampton Rangers have a bye over the weekend as Bailey’s Bay, along with Police, have dropped out of the league.