Under-16 National Cricket Championships: Meet the 26 rising stars representing NSW Metro and Country
The future of Australian women’s cricket will be on show this week at the under-16 National Championships. Meet the Metro and Country squads and see what each coach has to say.
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Last week the under-17 men’s NSW Country side claimed a maiden title on a thrilling final day in Ballarat. Now the rising stars of women’s cricket get their turn at the Cricket Australia under-16 Female National Championships in Hobart.
Two squads – representing Metro and Country – will head to the Tasmanian capital to compete alongside the country’s best emerging talent, with the nine-team tournament kicking off on 18 January and running through to 25 January.
NSW Metro will be out to defend the trophy they won in last year’s decider in Canberra, while a strong Country outfit are sure to make a concerted bid for the finals.
In fact, after Metro took out both men’s and women’s under-19 tournaments and Country prevailed in the men’s under-17s last week, the two sides will have the chance to make it a NSW clean sweep of the junior representative summer.
Ahead of the tournament, we spoke to both coaches to find out how the squads are shaping up and what they’re looking for from their players. Here’s what they had to say.
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METRO READY TO DEFEND TITLE
They head to Hobart as reigning champions, but for Metro coach Hannah Trethewy there’s much more at stake for these young cricketers than hoisting silverware.
With only two members returning from the side that defeated Victoria Metro in last season’s decider, for many, the trip interstate will be their first taste of repeated competition at high intensity.
“Winning is great, but there’s so much more than winning at these kinds of tournaments,” said Trethewy.
“Especially for the under-16 age group. I just hope that all the girls enjoy it, make some new friends and learn a lot from it.”
Blessed with a squad of fine all-round athletes used to dominating on the club scene, the biggest challenge for Trethewy will be deciding who to leave out on game day.
“Even the elite players go through patches of poor form, that’s just part of cricket,” explained Trethewy.
“Part of the coach’s job is educating players that there’s more ways to contribute to a team than batting and bowling. Especially for young women, confidence is a huge thing, so it’s something we will continue to work on throughout the duration of the tournament.”
Emily Powell was part of the successful combination in Canberra last season, and is one player who heads to Tasmania brimming with confidence.
“Emily will captain the side,” said Trethewy.
“She’s a really good leader for this age group and has gained experience playing first grade this season at the Sydney Cricket Club.”
Known for her punishing work at the top of the order, Powell will find plenty of support with the likes of Manly’s Hannah Moss and gun Parramatta all-rounder Neha Joshua in the mix to open the batting.
“Neha was part of the under-15s program too,” she said.
“We saw her dominating early on, she’s coming back from injury but is a great player. She has worked closely with the physio and is really excited to get back out there.”
For a number of players in the group, the tour could well be a fork in the road of their sporting career.
“Skye Halmarick loves to run in and bowl fast, and also bats with aggression,” she said.
“She is another to have played grade this season, and we are lucky to have her available because she was also involved with the junior Matildas a couple of months ago.
“Both sports have been really accommodating and I know she is really excited to represent NSW in cricket.”
Then there’s Bankstown batting all-rounder Jessica Robertson.
“Jess is a left-hander with great hand-eye coordination, she’s a bit unorthodox and hits the ball very hard,” said Trethewy.
“She’s also involved with AFL and is a fierce competitor.”
Aurora Mavros and Lucia Martin generate good heat with the ball and both score quickly with the bat. And when a change of pace is needed, Metro isn’t short of stock.
“Mayher Singh is a leg spinner from Northern District who had success at last season’s championships, and there’s also Lakshmi Rajadurai, who recently represented Papua New Guinea at the under-19 nationals,” said Trethewy.
“Lara Hughes is an off spinner who has been dominating second grade this year for Manly, her accuracy is a major asset.”
Over the course of the week, all members of the 13-strong squad will get their chance to impress, but when it comes to a surprise packet Penrith’s Gunisha Garg is one to watch.
“Gunisha has been batting in the middle order in second grade,” Trethewy said of the pint-sized all-rounder.
“She bowls beautiful inswing and is quite deceiving because she gets it through a little bit quicker than most expect.”
NSW Metro squad: Jessica Robertson (Bankstown), Hannah Moss (Manly Warringah), Mayher Singh (Northern District), Aurora Mavros (UTS North Sydney), Aarna Patel (Parramatta), Gunisha Garg (Penrith), Lucia Martin (St George-Sutherland), Emily Powell (Sydney), Skye Halmarick (Sydney), Lakshmi Rajadurai (Parramatta), Aanya Singh (Northern District), Neha Joshua (Parramatta), Lara Hughes (Manly Warringah), Hannah Trethewy (coach)
COUNTRY YOUNG GUNS TO MAKE A STATEMENT
Country will take a young but talented side to Hobart as the team looks to emulate its state colleagues in the final carnival of the season.
In fact, while a large number will be able to back up again next year, some are still young enough to be playing under-14s, in a sign that there is a bright future for country cricket.
“It’s a great opportunity and for a lot of them it’s the first time playing at a national championships,” said coach Andrew Litchfield. “It’s a big step up from everything else they’ve played but they’re really, really excited.”
And while the goal is always to win as many games as possible, Litchfield says his young side also has other aims for the tournament.
“We’re probably looking more about the process and the development of players, and if the outcome of that is that we win a significant number of games then that’ll be fantastic,” he said.
KEY PRINCIPLES
When it comes to developing players, the coach is clear on what it is he’s looking for from his talented young bunch.
“The main thing is their ability to perform under pressure, so taking all the training and game experience they’ve had at club and other representative levels into this national championship.
“Not everything will go right on the day, but how they actually respond when things don’t go well is important. So being able to problem-solve on the field is key.
“Once they’re on the field it’s the captain and the team that are running everything. So watching players at this age – 14- and 15-year-olds – work out solutions on the run is fun to watch.”
When it comes to leadership, Litchfield will be looking to Central North duo Caoimhe Bray and Sophie Parsons, who will captain and vice-captain the team, respectively.
While still just 14 and 15 themselves, the incredibly talented pair have already racked up valuable experience playing against top players at a rep level.
Despite their age, both were selected for Central North’s under-19s rep side for this summer’s country championships, with Bray – from Denman in the Hunter Valley – remarkably picked for the NSW Country under-19s side earlier in the season, as the team made the semi-finals of the national championships.
BATTING – TECHNIQUE AND TEMPO
When it comes to batting, scoring runs is always the goal. However how a team goes about that is often the difference between success and failure.
Facing off against the best under-16 cricketers in Australia, Litchfield said having some players who can anchor an innings and others with the ability to lift the tempo will be crucial to posting good totals.
“I think the challenge at this level is finding top-order batters – that’s probably the hardest skill at this level. And finding that nice balance between technique and being able to score runs is key.
“A lot of the female players are still developing strength-wise, so finding ways to score runs with a good technique is a nice balance. But it’s important that the players who are technically correct get an opportunity because often they’re the ones that will excel when the bowling gets a bit tougher.”
One crucial player in the top order will be vice-captain Sophie Parsons, who will come into the tournament in fine touch after dominating the under-16 country championships in December.
Scoring nearly double the runs of the next best batter with 134 at an average of 67, Parsons remarkably top scored for her team in every single game, and unsurprisingly was named player of the tournament.
“She’ll open the batting for us in the majority of games,” Litchfield said.
“She’s got the ability to keep out the good balls and score off the bad ones, so that’s pretty much what you want.”
She’ll be complemented by plenty of talented top-order bats. Newcastle’s Sophie Clune has shown that she can perform at representative level, while Simran Dhatt is an emerging player with an excellent technique who’ll be looking for a big carnival.
In terms of getting the ball rolling, all-rounder Caoimhe Bray is an incredibly attacking player who has the potential to score at better than a run a ball once she gets her eye in.
But while talent is important, Litchfield said that the ability to bat together and take on the opposition bowling attack is crucial.
“Batting is all about partnerships and if they can get into a partnership where that balance works nicely then it doesn’t really matter which batter scores the runs – as long as the partnership is functioning well then things generally move forward.”
STRIKE WEAPONS
Key to the team’s success will also be taking early wickets with the ball, with Litchfield confident his side has enough strike power to make serious inroads into opposition batting line-ups.
In addition to leading the side, skipper Bray will also spearhead the attack with the ball. And while she has had a heavy load over the summer with various club and representative commitments, she has the pace and variety to cause plenty of damage.
She will be well supported by the likes of up-and-coming Port Macquarie bowler Lane Jordan, who has enjoyed a strong representative summer, and Orange’s Holly Reed.
A tall opening bowler who is still just 14, Reed has developed her skills nicely in recent times and will be looking to make an impact.
“She’s been working on her trade and working out variations with the ball, and we’re hoping for her to take some wickets up front,” said Litchfield.
Elsewhere, the team’s slew of all-rounders provide the side with plenty of bowling options.
Newcastle duo Felicity Wharton and Molly Dare are proven performers at rep level, Greater Illawarra medium-pacer Ella Yates was impressive in the recent under-16 country championships, while Central North star Monique Krake will be looking to make an impact after forcing her way into the team on the back of some excellent recent performances.
“She’s another fast bowler that will look to take wickets up front,” said Litchfield. “She tends to bowl a really good line. She’s a player that wasn’t in the squad initially but through weight of numbers and performances has made her way in.”
SPINNING THE OPPOSITION OUT
While some teams use their spin options to tie down an end or sow the run rate, for Country it will be a case of going on the attack.
With the rare luxury of a left-arm unorthodox wrist spinner in Phoebe Johnston, Litchfield says the plan will be to deploy her as an attacking threat.
“She’s developing her craft, getting some nice variations. The nature of bowling wrist spin at this stage is that there will always be situations where a ball gets hit for four, so a lot of it is setting fields for wicket-taking options and we’ll be looking for her to take wickets rather than tying up an end.”
Country also has excellent left-arm orthodox spinner – and top-order batter – Ava Drury in the side. One of the more experienced players in the squad, the Central Coast captain is another expected to offer plenty with the ball.
“She’s developed really nicely as well. Her variations and speed through the air have improved significantly, so we’re looking for her to cause some problems for batters all the way through the order,” said Litchfield.
WINNING IN THE FIELD
While batting and bowling rightly get most of the attention, Litchfield says that his team places huge importance on other aspects of the game.
“Every player needs to field well and run between the wickets well. They are things that came down as much to attitude than anything else. We work pretty hard on our fielding,” he said.
“Especially in T20 games, you can win those games with good fielding and good running between the wickets,” the coach added.
“Every fielder has got to be in every ball, they have to expect and want the ball to come to them. We talk a lot about actually taking wickets in the field, so you want to be there to run someone out and take a catch – overall have a positive approach towards fielding.”
NSW Country squad: Caoimhe Bray (Central North), Sophie Parsons (Central North), Sophie Clune (Newcastle), Molly Dare (Newcastle), Simran Dhatt (Western), Ava Drury (Central Coast), Phoebe Johnston (Western), Lane Jordan (North Coastal), Monique Krake (Central North), Holly Reed (Western), Cadence Waters (Greater Illawarra), Felicity Wharton (Newcastle), Ella Yates (Greater Illawarra)
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