The connection between junior cricket and senior cricket is one of the most important pillars of the club. It also happens to be one of the great challenges of community sport, with cricket specific barriers being higher honours, school cricket, representative cricket and falling out of love with the sport. More general barriers include inclusion, competing sports, travel, academic pursuits, the races, life, and the list goes on. Given it is the start of a new season (albeit significantly delayed), I thought it would be good to reflect on our recent success in this area and highlight a few up and coming names to watch in 2022, who I am proud to say are all MACC products.
A deep dive into the season stats from 2021-22 reveals a surprising, but also positive, picture. Of the 17 players who turned out for the First XI, 12 (70.5%) played junior cricket at MACC. Of the seven that played 10 games or more, six (85.7%) were MACC products, including First XI captain – Andrew Padbury – and Vice Captain – James Guley. The second XI is even more encouraging. Out of the 24 players who played at least one game in the 2s, a whopping 18 (75%) went through our junior program, including Second XI Captain – Will Cooper. In the third XI, where we have traditionally relied heavily on current junior players and external recruits, 13 (41.9%) out of 31 players were MACC junior products. Of these 13, six were current junior players (46.2%), spread between the U16 and U14 age groups (despite the club not even fielding an U16 team for the season). Third XI Captain – Dale Greedy – is also a former MACC junior. 17 out of 40 (42.5%) players in the Fourth XI were MACC junior products, again demonstrating the heavy reliance on external recruiting at this level. The Fifth XI had a fairly settled team, only using 26 players across the season. Of these, eight (30.7%) have played juniors at MACC. The Sunday turf side, which was designed to help retain our older group of junior players while the club re-built our U16 side, had a total of 23 players in 2021-22, 15 (65.2%) were either current or former MACC juniors. Overall, more than half (51.5%) of MACC senior players in 2021-22 were either current junior players at the time or were former junior players at MACC.
I am buoyed by these stats. To me they demonstrate the success MACC has in this area and highlights our strength in retaining former junior players. Developing players from within is incredibly important for providing a safe, fun and inclusive environment for people to play cricket. On the one hand, we are providing an environment where we can develop young players into successful senior cricketers. On the other, we are providing an environment that is welcoming and inclusive for people outside of the MACC junior system.
A few weeks back we announced our new recruits to the First and Second XIs. Whilst this is exciting, it is equally exciting to take a closer look at our up and coming youth.
Competing for a place in our First XI in 2022-23 are Jack Woods, Joel Guley, Fraser Baddon and Lachlan Smit.
Jack has almost become first picked at the top of the order in the First XI, and took the white ball game by the scruff of the neck in 2021-22, amassing 280 runs in his first six hits of the season. Batting as an opener is no easy feat in Dunstan shield, but Jack has turned himself into one of the most damaging openers in the competition.
Joel is also an opener, and taking the next step will be high on his agenda when he returns from surgery closer to Christmas. In 2021-22, Joel made 272 runs at 22.67 in A turf, with a highest score of 71. It is also easy to forget Joel’s left arm seamers given he hasn’t bowled in many years due to his hip/back injury. Many are looking forward to seeing what he is capable of with more freedom of movement in the future.
Fraser made his debut for the First XI in 2021-22, ending up playing three games in Dunstan and four games in A Turf. Known best for his patient approach to batting and his improvisation (the ramp is a go to shot for Fraser when the game situation demands quick runs). Affectionately nicknamed “Uncle”, Fraser is also continuing to develop his handy finger spin.
Lachlan (Lachy) is another looking to take the next step in 2022-23. Plagued by a persistent knee injury in 2021-22, it will be exciting to see Lachy fit and firing when he opens the bowling with his deceptively sharp left arm seamers. Lachy is also an underrated batter who’s development in this area has been disadvantaged by his selection in the twos.
Pushing for spots in the twos – and potentially the ones – this season is a suite of boys who are either just out of U16s or are currently in the U16s or U14s. A couple even stepped up for the Fifth XI at the start of this season, helping them claim a valuable first round win. Charlie Hester – the up and coming wicket keeper batsman from our U16 side this season – hit an unbeaten 50* in the Fifths a few weekends ago. He was ably supported by fellow MACC junior Jack Massey – the stylish top order batsman and seam bowler with excellent control – with both bat (26*) and ball (1/15 off 7 overs). Isaac Edey (1/19 off 4 overs) also played an important role on Saturday with his leg spin. Also featuring in the Fifths on the weekend was the hard hitting opener – Sam Hawkins – who last season smashed over 200 runs with a highest score of 74* in the Sunday turf team.
This suite of young players also includes Mitchel Hedley, Rahal Balasuriya, Campbell Baddon, Ronak Sen and Nathan Woods.
Rahal is an accurate left arm seamer with a smooth action who proved incredibly important for the Third XI last season, taking 8 wickets from 42.3 overs.
Mitchell was also important for the threes last year, with his middle order batting and accurate finger spin. Mitchell also showed his prowess in the Sunday turf side where he took 10 wickets at 20.20 from 57 overs, including figures of 3/13 from 8 overs in the semi-final, to help the team push through to the grand final.
Campbell is another who we should be on the lookout for in 2022-23. Quickly growing in height, Campbell bowls with good control, and showed his value as a wicket taker in both Saturday and Sunday senior teams with 17 wickets for the season.
Ronak bowls a heavy ball and is quickly becoming a reliable option as a seamer. As he works on his control and he continues to build on his pace, Ronak will no doubt climb his way into the stronger XIs.
Nathan is a developing allrounder who took four wickets in the Fourth XI last season. This included an outstanding win against St Kevins OC where Nathan took 3/18 from 7 overs and hit 14*. In the close game, these runs were vital in securing the win.
We also have Lucas Saunders, who often took the new ball in the Sunday turf side last season, Henry Roga, who scored a 48 in the Fourth XI last season along with taking regular wickets for the Sunday turf team, Flynn Woolhouse, who is a fine allrounder who knows how to score runs against his peers (highest score of 72* in the U14s last season), Alex Bertus, James Webb, Adwait Patil and Daniel Teele pushing for selection in higher grades this year. In addition, we are looking forward to seeing who emerges from the U10s, U12s, U14s and U16s over the next few seasons.
Overall, looking towards our future is bright and exciting. I am looking forward to seeing all of these young players make the next step in 2022-23 and continue the tradition of playing senior cricket at the club you’ve always called home.