THE father of the Warrnambool and District Cricket Association's newest Sheffield Shield prospect says resilience laid the foundations for his meteoric rise to professional sport.
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Joe Medew-Ewen, who started as a Port Fairy junior, was on Thursday named in South Australia's 12-man squad to tackle a talent-laden New South Wales on Saturday.
The call-up marked recognition for the 23-year-old's red-hot South Australian Premier Cricket form for Port Adelaide. He's snared 26 first grade wickets from 11 matches, which complement figures 6-95 and 3-36 in the state's first two second XI matches in 2021.
His father Brian, who is Port Fairy's senior coach, said he and the club were proud of Medew-Ewen's determination.
"He's a guy who has worked really hard to get where he is," Medew said.
He's had a few knock-backs along the way. This fella is incredibly resilient.
- Brian Medew on Joe Medew-Ewen
"He's had a few knock-backs along the way. This fella is incredibly resilient.
"He had a great season for Northcote in (Victorian Premier Cricket) this past season and didn't get a lot of recognition from Cricket Victoria.
"He's moved over to South Australia and taken a bit of a punt and it's worked out for him."
Medew-Ewen has been named alongside skipper Travis Head, wicketkeeper Alex Carey and high-profile players Wes Agar and Chadd Sayers.
New South Wales, meanwhile, will feature a swag of Australian Test players including David Warner, Josh Hazlewood, Nathan Lyon and Mitchell Starc.
"All the buzz is about New South Wales," Medew said.
"I think they'll be scrambling around for a bit of footage as they won't have seen (Joe) bowl or know much about him."
Medew said his son's rise highlighted the Pirates' commitment to developing young talent.
"We made a decision many years ago to really pour into our juniors and that development," he said.
"We've had an enormous amount of kids go through the pathway system and we celebrate these successes.
"We celebrate our kids' achievements. (Junior development) is just very important."
Marsh Sheffield Shield Squad (SA v NSW, 6-9 March, Adelaide Oval. 10:30am daily)
Travis Head (c)
Alex Carey (wk)
Wes Agar
David Grant
Henry Hunt
Jake Lehmann
Joe Medew-Ewen
Harry Nielsen
Chadd Sayers
Liam Scott
Jake Weatherald
Daniel Worrall
In: Jake Weatherald, Joe Medew-Ewen
Out: Will Bosisto, Corey Kelly (omitted).
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