Sport
27 November, 2023
New young stars making their mark on the MDCA
The youth revolution is well and truly on in the Maryborough District Cricket Association (MDCA), rewarding clubs who are continuing to push their under 16s program. The league looks set to field one of their strongest Kirton Shield lineups in some...
The youth revolution is well and truly on in the Maryborough District Cricket Association (MDCA), rewarding clubs who are continuing to push their under 16s program.
The league looks set to field one of their strongest Kirton Shield lineups in some time this season, if the stats are anything to go by across the first eight rounds of the MDCA competition.
That followed a push from three clubs — Maryborough, Carisbrook and Colts Phelans — to continue their under 16 program after moving to the Castlemaine and District Cricket Association.
With Laanecoorie Dunolly unable to field an under 16 team this season, the move was made out of necessity, but all three teams, as well as the MDCA’s senior competition itself, have benefitted from the move.
All three clubs have also quickly proven their worth in the under 16 competition. Maryborough currently sits on top of the ladder, undefeated after three games, while Colts Phelans have taken two wins from three games. Carisbrook have also opened their account with a win.
However, it’s the added benefit which has helped the senior MDCA competition grow.
Already, younger players have vaulted up the bowling charts in A grade, while younger batsmen have shown their worth in A reserve.
Kirton Shield captain in 2023, Joe Lovel has had a terrific start to the season in A grade, sitting second on the wicket-taking list with 10 for Laane, while Maryborough’s under 16 product Jasper Trickey sits equal third on the list with nine wickets, including the best figures of the A grade season to this point — 5/19 in the opening round against Colts Phelans.
Clunes’ Brett Coon — who balances his time between the Magpies’ senior setup and Colts’ under 16 team, has also impressed taking six wickets, while the likes of Colts’ Riley Govan, Carisbrook duo Cooper Mark and Cooper Willis and Beaufort duo Cooper Cahill and Ben Grant have also impressed in the early stages of the A grade season.
In A reserve, Kirton Shield graduate Lachlan Bursill has impressed for the Owls, hitting 169 runs, including a maiden century against Colts Phelans, while Carisbrook’s Elliot Cullinan leads their run-scoring charts with 57 runs for the season.
That, on top of the seven-team under 13s competition commencing tonight, has allowed clubs to put forward their best young talents which will allow them to compete at a high level at the upcoming Country Week competition early next year.
Carisbrook president Caleb Cluff says while it’s a great reflection of the club to have many young players break through into the A grade and A reserve lineups, it’s still a major part of the learning process required in cricket.
“Our players, such as Cooper Mark, Cooper Willis, the Cullinan brothers and younger players such as Axel Purcell, who is 13 but a very promising leg-spinner, they need to see how the game is played and get used to how tough the game can be,” he said.
“Our thinking putting them in A grade and A reserve is that they can learn how tough the game can be, but it also makes them more ready for Kirton Shield and the junior competitions, as they would have played against senior players.”
Cluff says Carisbrook’s support staff, including the likes of Martin Mark, Leigh Koop and Simon Morrison who help keep the juniors ticking over, deserve a lot of credit, as does those who have helped the club adjust to the move into the Castlemaine competition.
“The people who are dragging them from Maryborough to Castlemaine deserve a lot of credit, and we’ve made a lot of space in the senior ranks for the ones who want to play in the afternoon, but are also coaching and playing in the mornings. If they are late, we just agree to start the game a bit later,” he said.
“But to make sure that we had younger players coming on, we had to do things like merging with the Castlemaine competition.”
Cluff continued to offer up continued solutions to keep the competition thriving, including school-level cricket.
“I think one of the things that we are missing is school-level cricket. It would be great if the schools could find a way to get a competition together, even if it’s just between Highview and MEC, to get more younger players back in the game. We just aren’t getting enough at the moment,” he said.
From a Colts Phelans perspective, A grade captain Dayne Baker has also enjoyed seeing his younger players thrive.
“It has been good to see their development as they progress. We’ve seen these kids since they were very young, and we have a few kids that play at senior level elsewhere, such as Brett Coon, who plays at Clunes, and Tate Williams, who plays A reserve for Natte Yallock,” he said.
“We like to foster the youth a fair bit, and it’s good to see that they are coming along and developing their skills.”
While the extra travel has also played its part, Baker has seen the positives out of Colts playing in the Castlemaine competition.
“I think it’s been tough with the extra travel, getting kids back in time to play senior cricket, but they have embraced it, playing high-quality cricket which has helped them develop at the same time. They enjoy it, which is good, and it’s a positive for the league and the clubs,” he said.
“Ideally, you would still like to see everyone playing locally, but to branch out and meet different people and develop their skills against high-quality opponents has been a good thing.”
As a result, Baker has noticed the likes of Govan and Harrison Kurzke play with increased confidence.
“They do start off a bit nervous, but everyone gets around them and they start performing,” he said.
“Riley Govan has bowled really well — we know he’s young and we have told him we don’t expect him to be a world-beater to start with, it’s all about the experience.
“Harrison Kurzke has opened the batting a few times and has performed well. Most importantly, they are enjoying it, and they start to feel a part of the team, which is really heartening.”
Baker says their enthusiasm has emanated across the playing group.
“It’s good to see the younger kids playing, because they love it. They enjoy being out there, and every week, we have had a couple of under 13s playing A reserve. They bring plenty of enthusiasm to us, and it gets the older guys up and about. It benefits everyone,” he said.