A pair of Warrnambool Moyne and District Cricket Association pace bowlers will look to impress in front of state selectors and coaches after being named in the Vic Country under 17 male squad for 2024-25.
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Talented duo Joshua Slater from Mortlake and Allansford-Panmure recruit Charlie James have been recognised as two of 20 young players across the state to feature in the squad after impressing for the Western Waves and at club level last season.
James, a talented left-arm swing bowler, crossed over from Northern Raiders to Allansford-Panmure recently and took 15 division one wickets last season. The teenager also represented Footscray in the Dowling Shield under 16 competition.
The Emmanuel College student said he was hoping to improve his craft when he heads to the sessions in Melbourne every second week to work with elite coaches in state-of-the-art facilities.
"it's been a bit of hard work, it's great," he said.
"It's exciting to get picked, I've done a lot behind the scenes. I'm looking forward to getting down there and picking the coaches brains and learning from them.
"I'll hopefully use it to maximise my cricket with the net sessions, gym sessions and make my cricket better."
The talented teenager said he wanted to generate more pace this season and believed he had another gear to go with his batting.
"Being a left-arm bowler, there's not a lot going around so i want to maximise my opportunities and I want to get a bit more pace. You do need pace when you go to a higher level of cricket to break games open," he said.
"I've also been going for some hits with Declan Bourke at QX3 to improve my batting. I want to get up the order and have an impact on the scoreboard a bit more."
He confirmed he'll play some games at Premier cricket level with Footscray when his schedule allows this season.
"I'm looking forward to going a step up in a new environment and getting a bit of a feel for that," he said.
Slater, an all-rounder known for his natural pace, generated from a whippy bowling action, is playing consistent division one cricket for Mortlake and represented Geelong in the Dowling competition.
The Mortlake College student - also playing Hampden league senior football with Terang Mortlake - said he was thrilled to be given the opportunity to be part of the squad.
"It's huge, it feels great to be selected with the little amount of Vic country spots in the squad," Slater said.
The teenager said his improvement as a cricketer came through playing senior cricket for the Cats and his involvement at representative level under esteemed mentor John Houston.
"I got chucked in the deep end batting high in the seniors last year and I felt like it made me a better batter as well as with the Waves with John Houston," he said.
"I've been focusing a lot on on my bowling a lot but love to bat and get better in that area. I really want to learn some new variations with my bowling and soak up as much as I can from the coaches there."
Nick Creely
Sports reporter with The Standard
Sports reporter with The Standard
