A STRESS fracture in his back did little to halt Liam Brown’s progress on the cricket pitch.
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The all-rounder represented Vic Country, Western Waves, Melbourne Grammar and Russells Creek in a jam-packed 2015.
“I just love playing. As long as I am playing, I am happy,” he said.
Brown, 17, made his national championships debut in Brisbane in September when he was part of a Vic Country under 17 side featuring Mortlake talent Lachie Wareham.
He played for Western Waves at state level in January – he is preparing to represent the region again next month – and established himself in Melbourne Grammar’s first XI.
Appearances for his Warrnambool and District Cricket Association club Russells Creek punctuated those commitments.
Brown has made 53 and a career-best 116 in his two division one matches so far this summer, wasting little time reacquainting himself with the competition’s pitches.
The highlight of his busy season was earning a call-up for the national titles.
“It was my first time at nationals. I loved it,” he said.
“It was a bit of a challenge but I had a great time.
“Adapting to the different tempos of the game (was challenging).”
Brown was on the comeback trail leading into nationals after a five-month layoff with back-related stress fracture.
“I was picked as a batting all-rounder because I was coming back from injury,” he said.
“The first two months I did no running and then it was rehab and gym work and eventually working on the technical side of bowling and redoing my action.
“I had a bit of trouble a month ago with the cartilage between my ribs but it’s slowly getting better and I am on top of it now.
“It is pretty good now so I am getting back bowling.”
Brown, who will spend his school holidays in Warrnambool at the beach and fishing, said Western Waves had assembled a strong squad for the under 18 state championships.
The Waves launch their title tilt against South East Bayside on January 11.
Wareham will play, as will under 19 state players Nick King (Dennington) and Gus Boyd (Hamilton).
“We have some good potential so I reckon we should go all right,” Brown said.
“I think we will have a pretty good batting line-up and we are good mates so there will be a strong culture around the group.”
Russells Creek re-starts its WDCA season against East Warrnambool-YCW in a Twenty20 fixture on January 2.
The short-form finals are on January 10.
