WHEN Steve 'Tubbie' Taylor moved to Warrnambool he noticed a niche in the cricket market and knew he had the perfect idea to fill it.
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The former Sydney resident moved to the south-west in January after falling in love with the region on a caravan trip through Victoria to Perth with his wife Kat.
Tubbie realised the town did not have its own indoor batting practice centre, which prompted him with his son Anthony, affectionately known as Rayz, to start their own business called Tubbie & Rayz Indoor Batting House.
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"I was lead maintenance supervisor at the treatment plant here and then COVID came so I had to make myself versatile with my business," he said of the origins of the centre.
"I saw there was an indoor centre here but it is mostly to play sports and not one to train in.
"I thought about my experience in Sydney and they had these type of specialist batting practice centres with a pitching machine up there and I thought baseball is not the right market here so I'm focusing on cricket."
The 320-square metre facility has two full-length synthetic cricket pitches and one self-feeding Bola bowling machine which can be set for cricket or baseball batting practice.
"The Bola machine can bowl at speeds ranging from 48 to 150km/h and deliver out-swing, in-swing deliveries, off-spin and leg-spin deliveries.
Tubbie said the family-run business, situated on Coghlans Road, hoped to open on Monday -September 28 with free come and try sessions on the following weekend.
The final touches are being added to the centre with netting to go up in the next few weeks. The business will be open Monday to Friday 10am to 11pm and 9am to 2pm on weekends.
Tubbie has 35 years worth of experience as a cricket and baseball player from his time in Newcastle and Sydney.
He also has 10 years of experience with indoor bowling/pitching machines. Rayz is a professional baseball player who is preparing to play in New Zealand.
Tubbie has built an automatic feeder for the bowling machine which will allow coaches to focus more on mentoring and less on the ball delivery.
He hopes to expand the business in the future adding a golf simulator.
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Sean Hardeman
I'm a sports journalist for the Warrnambool Standard who covers a number of different sports across the south-west of Victoria. I enjoy watching cycling, surfing, football, soccer and Formula 1.
I'm a sports journalist for the Warrnambool Standard who covers a number of different sports across the south-west of Victoria. I enjoy watching cycling, surfing, football, soccer and Formula 1.
