Adam Wood, Justin Millard and Luke Trudgett selected for Australian Deaf T20 World Cup squad
THREE South Australians will be part of an Australian contingent travelling to India next month for the nation’s first Deaf Cricket World Cup appearance in 13 years.
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A TRIO of South Australians will be part of an Australian contingent travelling to India next month for the nation’s first Deaf Cricket World Cup appearance in 13 years.
Adam Wood, Justin Millard and Luke Trudgett have been selected as part of a 14-strong squad of deaf and hard of hearing players to take on seven other nations in the T20 tournament.
Goodwood Cricket Club veteran Wood, part of Australia’s last World Cup team in 2005, says the squad’s mix of youth and experience has it well placed for a strong showing.
“I’m really excited with the team that we have, just the people and the players,” Wood, 46, says.
“In 2005, we were probably the best team but lost the semi-final.
“India and Pakistan are both always strong but it’s hard to know what everyone will be like.”
Australia will take on hosts India as well as Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Pakistan, South Africa and Sri Lanka at the tournament, starting on November 16.
Wood, of Colonel Light Gardens, has played Grade Cricket for Prospect in the past but says the tour of India is something all cricketers dream of.
“It’s a once-in-a-lifetime experience, so I’m very lucky to be doing it twice,” Wood says.
“There’s a really wide group of different levels of deaf and hard of hearing, so it’s a challenge for the group because we have to work and communicate together.
“That’s why we have two interpreters on the trip, so no one is left behind.”
Wood and Millard will be two of the elder statesmen on the tour.
Millard, who plays A1 Turf for Payneham, says he is “over the moon” to be selected.
“I’m very happy about it because I've been training twice with the Australian deaf cricket squad in 2009 and 2010 but unfortunately both of those tournaments were cancelled,” Millard, 37, says.
“I joined Payneham this summer season as a challenge to faced different bowlers to give me more experience before I go to India.”
The overseas tour will be fully sponsored by Cricket Australia for the first time.
The squad travelled to Brisbane in April for a training camp at the national cricket centre, making use of the programs and training grounds used by Australia’s elite players.
They even received coaching from the likes of Test off-spinner Nathan Lyon.
Trudgett, of Rosewater, was 17 when he first travelled to India for the 2005 World Cup and the Woodville player cannot wait to go back.
“It was a really terrific experience ... I’ll never forget that whole time we were there,” Trudgett, 30, says.
“I just love travelling and love cricket.
“The goal is to win the World Cup and bring it home where it belongs.”