Youngsters pad up in search of glory

Youngsters pad up in search of glory

As summer sport returns from its brief hibernation during the Christmas and new year break, a massive week of cricket is coming up as Limestone Coast youngsters pad up for junior glory.

The region will be represented by four sides in various under-age competitions on both sides of the border in the next fortnight and the Country Cup kicks off the cricket-filled fun.

Under 14 and 12 South East sides will fight for the coveted Country Cup across four days of action with the first ball to be bowled on Monday.

The Under 14’s team coached by Craig Hicks starts its campaign against Eyre Peninsula followed by contests against Yorke Peninsula and Upper North.

East Gambier’s Riley Lawrence has been named captain of the team and hopes to follow in the footsteps of last summer’s side which reached the finals off the back of many strong bowling performances.

Millicent is well represented in the squad with Ashton Lindner, Charlie Bevan, Cambell Hateley and Teej Lawlor getting a cap, as is Bordertown’s Darcy Twigden.

Lindner and Bevan will play significant roles in the batting order which will be fronted by Archer Virtanen.

Mil Lel’s Virtanen tops the 2021/22 Mount Gambier and District Cricket Association Under 14’s leading run scorers list and is joined by team mate Harrison Hicks.

Lucindale, West Gambier, North Sportsman’s and Naracoorte are all represented Riley Clarke, Harvey Croker, Blake Vause and Nic Bald respectively.

The prize at the end of the carnival is a Grand Final played on the pristine turf of Park 25.

The Under 12’s will also get the chance to play against the state’s best and they are hopeful of starting their representative careers with a bang.

Last summer’s Country Cup was a tremendous success for the youngest South East team.

The young team climbed all the way to the Grand Final after an undefeated minor-round campaign, but met a well-resourced Adelaide Turf team.

The current team is coached by Steve Vause and a third of the squad already boasts previous experience of the Country Cup universe.

Orlando Vause, Jagger Geary, Ryder Lindner and Kobe Maxwell were all playing a part in South East’s successful stint last summer and will be hopeful of returning better players 12 months later.

Sam Hasse, Harry Baker, Shoeb Khan, Preston Lydeamore, Ari Robbins, Levi Robbins, Tom Richards and Tayte Virtanen are the new faces desperate to make an impression and get a taste for representative cricket.

South East has fixtures lined up alongside Yorke Peninsula, Upper North and Eyre Peninsula before a potential decider also played at Park 25.

On the evidence of South East Under 16’s coach Craig Watson, the two sides should expect to have an unforgettable week of cricket.

“It was just a great opportunity to coach the kids and get to know them,” he said.

“They were all successful in one way or another at some stage throughout the week.

“The parents support was good as it always is.

“It was great to see so many parents taking time off work to support the kids for a week.

“The kids played roughly 320 overs across four days so they were pretty puffed, but kept playing on the weekend when we got back.”

Watson’s Under 16’s team fought hard and sneaked into the semi-finals.

Although the Limestone Coast crew received a touch up by Adelaide Turf, Watson said his boys showed plenty of character in the field.

“It was a fantastic experience for the kids to play at Park 25 and we knew Adelaide Turf had made some big scores, so we mixed things up a bit and opened with a spinner which caused a bit of a ruckus,” he said.

“We held them to around 170 which was under par because our bowling and fielding was outstanding.

“They did not miss a chance which was a credit to the boys.”

Despite all of the great experiences made in each match, Watson said the team’s fondest memory was made after stumps was called.

“We finished one game and the Adelaide Strikers were having a big training session across on Karen Rolton Oval,” he said.

“We went over and had pretty much full access to all of the Strikers players and they were so friendly and welcoming to the kids.

“At one point all of the kids were spread around the oval because the Strikers were hitting big bombs and they were offered $5 a catch.

“They had some great interactions and it was probably the kids’ highlights of the week.”

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