Coomera Cubs teens Jaime Fox and Ian Lee to take on baseball powers at Under-15 World Cup

COOMERA Cubs young guns Jaime Fox and Ian Lee are embracing Australia’s underdog tag as they prepare to take on the giants of world baseball.

COOMERA Cubs young guns Jaime Fox and Ian Lee are embracing Australia’s underdog tag as they prepare to take on the giants of world baseball.

The pair left for a week of training in Atlanta with their Aussie under-15 teammates on August 2, ahead of the biggest moment of their careers at the World Cup in Panama from August 10-19.

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Coomera Cubs players Jaime Fox and Ian Lee will play for Australia at the under-15 World Cup in Panama from August 10-19. Picture: Richard Gosling

The 20-strong Australian squad enters the tournament ranked eighth in the world and will face Japan (no. 2) in their opening game, before meetings with South Africa (no. 26), Dominican Republic (no. 12), Netherlands (no. 9) and two-time defending champions Cuba (no. 4).

Should they progress, the Australians will likely have to topple the top-ranked Americans to claim silverware, but Fox, 14, believes it is a goal within their reach.

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“I think we can go all the way. We’re going in as underdogs but I think that’s just fuel to the fire for us to show them we can compete and win a medal,” the Kingscliff-based catcher said.

“We gel really well as a team and if we put it all together over there we can go well. It’s going to be tough to compete but our staff’s pretty good, we’ve got a lot of good position players and I think we can compete really well over there.”

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Schoolmates at Robina State High, Fox and Lee were members of the Australian side that beat New Zealand in January’s Oceanic qualifier to book a place at the World Cup.

With their belief bolstered, they are adamant they can deliver again on the international stage.

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“It’s going to be pretty nerve-racking putting on the green and gold but we’ve got a lot of confidence in our team. I know I’m going to be very nervous but I’ve just got to calm down and play my game.

“I’ve played for so long (six years) so I know it and I’ve just got to stick to my game and play hard.”