Manjula De Zoysa and Tharanga Fernando are expected to add significantly to the line-up, addressing some key areas for the Pointies.

Tharanga Fernando, originally from Sri Lanka, has been based in Victoria for a number of years and enjoyed a stellar season for Sunshine in the Victorian Turf Cricket Association north A1 competition

The off-spinner took 59 wickets at an impressive average of 9.6 from his 14 matches. Fernando showed his damaging ability in round three where he took 13-54 for the match against Barkly Street Uniting.

He is also more than capable with the bat, averaging 25.6 with a top-score of 84.

As for De Zoysa, he joins the club from Sri Lanka, Golden Point coming into contact with him through a player agent while he also has connections with former import Saman Jayantha.

The top-order batsmen has played 110 first-class matches in Sri Lanka, representing a number of teams including Galle Cricket Club and Singha Sports Club.

The 34-year-old promises to be a valuable inclusion to the batting line-up. He averaged 28.3 runs including seven centuries and a top-score of 204 throughout his first-class career. While he also offers some handy off-spin, taking 44 wickets. 

Pointies captain Josh White said the pair would add another dimension to the starting XI.

“Hopefully they can add some depth to our side and hopefully make us a better team,” White said.

“We’ve still got to get the wins on the board, so we’ve got to take each game as it comes.

“But we certainly think we’ve strengthened our team up a bit, added some experience to the batting order and of course the spinner.”

White said the major improvement the duo would bring to Golden Point was the options they offered with the ball. A lack of an experienced spinner was something that hurt the Pointies last season, where it finished fifth.

“It’s something we needed to address, it gives us more options and keeps sides guessing with multiple options.

“We lacked an experienced spinner last year and they will also bolster our batting and add a bit of experience.

“We’ve got a lot of fast bowling options, so it helps to have a bit of variation and also getting through a few overs.“