Bradman Cup: Players to watch in the 2024-25 Country NSW under-16 championships
Country NSW has produced some of the best cricketers to play the game. Ahead of this year’s Bradman Cup, we’re putting the spotlight on the best young talent from the bush.
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Regional NSW’s best young cricketing talent will be on show this weekend when the Bradman Cup kicks off across the state.
As one of the country’s most prestigious junior cricket competitions, the tournament brings together the best under-16 cricketers from country NSW, with action to kick off in Port Macquarie, Harden and Cootamundra on Saturday.
The eight teams will be broken up into northern and southern pools for the opening rounds this weekend. They will each play one 50-over per side match and two T20s before coming back for the final four rounds of the tournament in Albury in early January.
Ahead of the tournament, we will progressively roll out a preview of all sides and highlight some exciting players to watch, starting off with the Central Coast, North Coastal, Western, Central North, Riverina and Southern Districts.
CENTRAL COAST
After a tough campaign last year in which the zone finished seventh out of eight teams, the Central Coast looms as one of the big improvers with a very talented squad ahead of this year’s tournament.
“I’m extremely confident,” said coach David Winiata. “Last year I took six under-15 players who are now part of the squad this year, and that was more of a learning lesson for them to get used to the standard of the Bradman Cup.
“So on the back of half the squad having been there before and being pretty strong across the board, I’m pretty confident we can give it a shake this year.”
Indeed, there are plenty of reasons to be confident, with a string of Central Coast players having performed well in the recent SG Moore Cup under-16 competition, especially with the bat.
“Definitely our batting depth will be a strength, we will bat to 11,” said Winiata.
“But probably our biggest strength is that we’ve got five spinners. We’ll only use three or four, but we’ve actually got five in our squad and we’ll be pretty confident to attack any opposition with the spinning options that we’ve got. And we do spin it in different ways: a couple of leggies, a couple of offies.”
With high hopes, the Central Coast side will be able to test itself against some of the best early on, taking on defending champions North Coastal, Central Northern and heavyweights Newcastle in the first opening weekend in Port Macquarie.
“We play Newcastle on Sunday. It’s always a bit of a grudge match and we want to try and get over the top of our bigger brothers,” said Winiata.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Vincent Thornley
The skipper of the side is an excellent top-order batter who is coming off a stunning SG Moore Cup campaign as a guest player for Belmont. He pummelled 176 runs in just four digs at an average of 59 to help carry the Whips to the semi-finals.
“He’s our captain and he will lead from the front,” said Winiata.
Simon Alderson
As Thornley’s teammate and top-order partner at club level for Wyong, Alderson has had an almost identical build-up to the Bradman Cup, also impressing in his guest stint for Belmont.
In a brilliant performance, Alderson scored 189 runs at 63 to finish the SG Moore Cup as the second-highest runscorer.
George Verth
Another who starred in the Newcastle-based SG Moore competition as a recruit for Newcastle City, Verth is talented fast bowling all-rounder who will opening the bowling for the Central Coast and be looked upon as a key source of runs.
“He’s a big, tall quick and he can hit the ball quite well as well,” said Winiata.
Sairam Patil
Another quick to partner Verth with the new ball, Patil brings plenty of heat and accuracy and is tipped to trouble top-order batters throughout the tournament.
NORTH COASTAL
North Coastal will enter the competition as defending premiers after the zone took out last season’s title with an excellent display of cricket.
However as is the nature of age-based cricket, coach John Brenton has pointed out that North Coastal will take an almost completely different side into this year’s tournament, with only a couple of players returning.
“As I said to our boys, we’re a different team, we’ve got different opposition, we’re under different conditions and wickets, so realistically there’s no pressure about thinking that if we don’t win then the campaign hasn’t been a success,” he said.
Nevertheless, the coach is excited about what his group could do.
“I’m quite pleased with how things are shaping up. We’ve got a pretty well-balanced side and some of the guys who’ve been playing in their local representative competitions have been scoring and bowling very well, so I’m looking forward to the weekend,” he said.
Indeed, a couple of the team’s key players will come into the tournament on the back of runs and wickets as both batting and bowling units look strong.
“We have a strong top order with some guys who’ve played a lot of cricket with each other in their local zone and representative cricket, and I’m also quite excited by our bowling group,” said Brenton.
“We have a good mix of quicks and spinners. That will give us lots of options, which you need, especially in T20 cricket.”
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Cooper Williams
Still only 15 and playing up a year, the stylish top-order batter is remarkably one of those who was part of last year’s championship-winning side as a 14-year-old.
He will come into the tournament in good touch, having plundered 129 from 120 balls last weekend in a stunning knock for Far North Coast in the under-15 Youth Championships.
“He’s quite exciting and hopefully we’ll get some great input from him throughout the tournament,” said Brenton.
“And the fact that he’s got some runs only one week out from the tournament is certainly great for us and great for him.”
Blake Collings
Another underage player who will come into the tournament with plenty of confidence, Collings took five wickets in the same rep game as Cooper and is tipped to cause some damage against his opponent.
“He’s a good, honest bowler. He’ll attack the stumps and won’t give too much away, which is exactly what you want in this sort of cricket,” said Brenton.
WESTERN
Having seen plenty of teams chock full of talent come through the ranks over the years, Western coach Greg Rummans is keeping a lid on his excitement ahead of the opening games this weekend.
“I’ve been excited about teams before that haven’t done that well, and there have been years where I probably didn’t think I had a strong team and they’ve punched above their weight. So I’m pretty happy with this year’s team but I don’t want to get too excited by it,” he said.
However with a large number having been picked up by Sydney clubs for the upcoming Green Shield competition, it’s clear that Western will be competitive in the tournament.
“There’s some fairly complementary players there. There’s some technical players, there’s some aggressive players, there are players who will get you out of trouble and players who will take the game on. It is fairly well balanced,” said Rummans.
“You don’t really know what you’re coming up against but I’d imagine that these guys would more than hold their own. And if they can all gel together like the opens team, for example, then they should have a good time.”
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Fletcher Byrne
The top-order batter will be coming back for his second season in the Bradman Cup and will also line up behind the stumps at wicketkeeper after making significant progress with his glovework over the past 12 months.
“He made some runs last year in the carnival and with an extra year, some added strength and his technique, it should hopefully result in some more runs this year,” said Rummans.
Austin Hunt
The bowling all-rounder is expected to bring plenty of heat to the competition, with Hunt’s speed in particularly likely to cause some problems for top orders around the state.
“If he can get things right with the ball, he’ll be very hard to handle. He’s a couple of yards quicker than most and he can beat the bat for pace often,” said Rummans.
Luke Muir
The fast bowler from Bathurst is a real prospect and will bring plenty of X-factor to the Western side with the new ball.
“He’s tall, athletic and he works really hard on his game,” said Rummans. “His bowling arm has a bit of a whip to it and I’m really excited to see where he gets to over the next few years.”
CENTRAL NORTH
There will be plenty of new faces as Central North looks to better its fourth-place finish from 2023/24.
“They’re all excited. We’ve only got two backing up from last season so it’s all new to them,” said coach Damian Henry.
Despite the majority of the team not having played in the Bradman Cup before, the coach is confident of a strong showing, particularly given that the side features a core of players from the Northern Inland side that took out last year’s under-15 Youth Championships in the Northern Pool.
“It’s a well-rounded side: we’ve got some good batsmen, some good bowlers and some good spinners. We’re pretty happy with the squad,” said Henry.
And while the team will take on last year’s champions North Coastal and perennial heavyweights Newcastle in the opening weekend in Port Macquarie, Henry’s team have high expectations.
“We’d like to think we’ll be in the mix come the end of it in Albury, but obviously we’ve got to play everyone else between now and then,” he said.
“We’ve only got two backing up from last season so it’ll be a learning curve for them and a step up from the cricket they’ve been playing.”
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Sam Davis and Archie McMaster
The only two returning from last year’s squad, the pair are expected to use their experience and be a key source of top-order runs for the team.
Davis in particular enjoyed a strong carnival last season, piling on 221 runs at 37 to be the fourth-highest runscorer in the entire competition.
“Sam had a good carnival last year in the Bradman Cup so we’ll be looking for him and Archie to be leading with our batting,” said Henry.
Oliver Stubbs
The big left-arm quick from Armidale will spearhead the Central North attack, with his bounce and pace tipped to trouble top-order batters throughout the competition.
“He’s a big boy so he comes from a fair height,” said Henry. “He’ll be our go-to bowler.”
Charlie Lovegrove
The talented off-spinner from Maitland will be one the team looks towards to not only take wickets but also to try and tie opposition batters down.
Lovegrove should be in good form having recently represented the NSW under-15 All Schools team in the national championships in Mackay.
RIVERINA
Just as with quite a few sides, there will be plenty of players getting their first taste of Bradman Cup action when Riverina kicks off its tournament against Greater Illawarra on Saturday.
“It’s a new group, only a couple of them have returned from the previous year,” said coach Sam O’Connor. “There are a couple of late bloomers in there and all of them are playing senior cricket in their town comps so I’m looking forward to seeing how they go against kids in their own age group.”
With plenty of strike and depth with the ball, the team will be looking to get on top of their opponents with an aggressive style of cricket.
“The bowling will certainly be our strength,” said O’Connor. “We’ve got a couple of handy quicks and three handy spinners as well.
“And with our bats we’ll try and play with an assertive game plan and try and take the game forward. It might be new to a few of them but it’ll give them the chance to not only do well in the short term but also develop their cricket in the years to come.”
PLAYERS TO WATCH
David Caldow
The big fast bowler from Hay is very sharp with the ball in hand and will lead the attack for Riverina.
“He’s really progressed over the past six to 12 months coming through the Riverina academy,” said O’Connor. “His ball speed has really improved and he hits the wicket hard.”
Nick Oliver
One of the region’s brightest prospects, the tall off-spinner will be back for his second stint at the Bradman Cup despite still only being 15.
“He came away with team last year as 14 year-old and bowled well,” said O’Connor. “With an extra year of development and the off-season with the Riverina academy, I’m looking forward to seeing how he goes.”
Joe Lavis
One of a string of Lavis family members to represent Riverina, the all-rounder from Corowa will open the bat for the side and provide a dangerous option with the ball.
“He’s a strong timer of the ball, a very handy batsman,” said O’Connor. “He bowls a heavy ball as well.”
SOUTHERN DISTRICTS
Last year was a tough initiation for Southern Districts, who were thrown in the deep end after the ACT’s defection from Country Cricket NSW saw the zone enter the national carnival as a stand-alone entity for the first time.
However 12 months on there is plenty of confidence that the youngest crop of talent from the region can make an impact.
“They were a very young team last year, we had nine of the 13 who were underage,” said coach Dean Roxburgh.
“It was a tough tournament for them, a big step up in quality and they learned that very fast after the first day. But this year we’re fortunate to have all our players of age at under-16s level. The attitude among the group is that they’re going down there to win this competition.”
And while the team struggled with results last season, the players learned plenty of lessons about the finer aspects of the game that are set to keep it in good stead ahead of the upcoming campaign.
“One thing we learned last year was that a big strength of the bigger zones was their running between the wickets,” said Roxburgh. “That has had a huge impact on us, and just the ability to turn the scoreboard over.”
Part of the reason behind the positive outlook is the well-balanced squad that will travel to Harden and Cootamundra for the Southern Pool’s first weekend of matches.
“I’m a fan of all-rounders and I’m carrying five at the moment. Three of them are medium-fast all-rounders and two are leg-spinning all-rounders. I’m very fortunate in that regard,” said Roxburgh.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Issac Roxburgh
While still obviously young enough for under-16s, the NSW Country academy batter has enough talent that he was actually selected in Southern Districts’ under-19s rep side for the Country Colts tournament earlier this summer.
And he certainly just didn’t make up the numbers, scoring 108 runs across the tournament to be the side’s third-highest runscorer.
Bryce Kellar
The skipper will play a key role in leading his team against some of the more fancied zones in the competition.
A top-order batter and leg-spinner, Kellar is expected to be a key source of runs and wickets, in addition to his general leadership.
Noah Nasser
A frontline quick who also bats in the top six, Nasser provides some X-factor for Southern Districts with the ball.
“He’s been sharp so far this season and I think is going to be very good for us this year,” said Roxburgh.
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