The Australian Under 19s cricket team named
The Ashes are retained, so now it’s time to profile the next gen Aussie cricketers looking to rub salt into England’s wounds on next month’s Australian Under 19s tour.
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The grandson of a Queensland batting champion, pace bowlers who clock 140kph-plus and some thrilling batsmen have been named in the Australian Under 19s team to tour England next month.
Cody Reynolds, whose grandfather Ray scored 3693 runs for Queensland at 46 in the 1960s, has been named in the touring party which will play five one day internationals and two four day games against England.
Reynolds and express paceman Callum Vidler were two of four Queenslanders named in the squad.
Vidler’s longtime teammate Hugh Weibgen was named captain of the touring party, while a fourth Queensland, Lachlan Aitken, maintains the state’s proud tradition of producing elite glovemen.
The squad also includes a swath of NSW young guns - Cameron Frendo (Fairfield Liverpool Cricket Club), Ryan Hicks (Mosman Cricket Club), Sam Konstas (Sutherland Cricket Club), Rafael MacMillan (St George District Cricket Club), Harjas Singh (Western Suburbs Cricket Club) and Tom Straker (Sutherland District Cricket Club).
There are two Victorians, Harkirat Bajwa (Melbourne Cricket Club) and Harry Dixon (St Kilda Cricket Club), three from Western Australia, Corey Wasley (Rockingham-Mandurah) Mahli Beardman (Melville Cricket Club) and Josh Vernon (Midland Guildford Cricket Club) and one from the Northern Territory, Tom Menzies (Darwin Cricket Club).
Reynolds and Aitken, both from the Gold Coast Dolphins, have grown up playing junior representative cricket.
New Dolphins coach Simon Belston recalls having the boys in his Queensland under 14 side.
“They have excelled with their performances and this is certainly warranted through state and now nationals,’’ Belston said.
“As a club we are super proud of them and they have a fantastic future ahead of them.
“I always knew they had super talent and fantastic skills so selection is not a surprise to me.’’
Aitken follows in another proud tradition which Queensland has of producing international class glovemen.
A Hillcrest College past student and Broadbeach-Robina junior; he hit a highest score of 157 for Queensland at the national Under-19 series last season and played in the series against England Under-19 earlier this year in Brisbane
“He has nice silky hands, is a good mover and is very athletic. And his attention to detail is second to none and that is sometimes the difference in seeing these lads come through,’’ Belston said.
Both Weibgen and Callum Vidler, GPS First XI premiership winners with Brisbane Grammar School last season, have been playing cricket together for as long as they can remember.
Weibgen, who last year became the youngest player in Valley’s history to score a first grade century, is also a more than handy off-spin bowler.
Vildler can really clap on the pace which is an attribute that gives him x-factor in his age group. He is also a handy lower order player.
The rest of the squad is:
Harkirat Bajwa (VIC - Melbourne Cricket Club)
The off-spinner represented Australia at the Under-19 World Cup last year and was involved in a series against England earlier this year. He played five games in Melbourne’s First XI Victorian Premier Cricket side last season taking a couple of wickets. Bajwa is a product of Buckley Ridges and Narre South cricket clubs in the Dandenong District association.
Harry Dixon (VIC - St Kilda Cricket Club)
The left-handed opening bat made his first century for St Kilda in Victorian Premier Cricket last season. He also showed he was capable of scoring on mass for Victoria and Australia.
Mahli Beardman (WA - Melville Cricket Club)
Another exciting pace bowler to emerge from Western Australia, Beardman captured five wickets at an average under 15 at the under-19 championships this year. He also received a rookie contract with the Warriors for the upcoming season.
Josh Vernon (WA - Midland Guildford Cricket Club)
A right-arm fast bowler who hails from the small country town of Dampier. Able to do plenty of damage with the new ball. Vernon won a rookie contract with WA for the upcoming season.
Corey Wasley (WA - Rockingham-Mandurah Cricket Club)
Highly regarded for his attacking batting style, the left-hander caught the eye at the under-19 national championships with 213 runs at an average of 35.5 in six innings.
Tom Menzies (NT - Darwin Cricket Club)
Only turned 17 at the start of the year and the all-rounder is considered to be the NT’s most exciting prospect in years. Took the under-17 national titles by storm earlier this year when he took 10 wickets at an average of 21 while also chipping in with handy scores with the bat.
Cameron Frendo (Fairfield Liverpool Cricket Club)
Frendo heads a long list of gun juniors rising through the Fairfield-Liverpool ranks. The left-arm orthodox spinner has shown his capabilities in first grade and has been on the Blues radar for some time.
While the NSW selectors couldn’t find a place for him at last year’s U19 Nationals in Perth, they made sure he was on show with a spot in the Northern Territory XI.
Ryan Hicks (Mosman Cricket Club)
A bottom age player for NSW at last season’s U19 Nationals, Hicks showed his class as a gloveman when he pouched eight of the nine wickets to fall in the final against Queensland in a player of the match performance.
A confident right-hand batter, he has been a constant scorer on his way up the ranks.
Sam Konstas (Sutherland Cricket Club)
A prodigious junior batting talent, Konstas holds the record for the most Green Shield (U16 Sydney comp) runs in the history of the competition.
A constant run scorer at every level, the gifted right hander blasted his maiden top grade ton for Sutherland last November at better than a run-a-ball.
Rafael MacMillan (St George District Cricket Club)
A tall right-arm off spinner, MacMillan is equally adept at taking wickets or holding up an end.
Last season the St George junior bagged 3-25 for NSW in the U19 Nationals final and also represented ACT/NSW against the touring West Indians.
Harjas Singh (Western Suburbs Cricket Club)
The gifted left-hander was among the leading run scorers at last season’s U19 Nationals for NSW.
A little over 18 months ago, Singh smashed his maiden first grade ton as a 16-year-old - the eighth youngest to achieve the feat in more than a century of Sydney first grade cricket.
Tom Straker (Sutherland District Cricket Club)
The reliable right-arm paceman returned to bowling last season after overcoming two seasons with stress fractures.
The hard working speedster represented the U19 Blues last season and has made regular appearances in Sutherland’s top grade.
Squad:
Hugh Weibgen (c) (QLD - Valley District Cricket Club)
Lachlan Aitken (QLD - Gold Coast District Cricket Club)
Harkirat Bajwa (VIC - Melbourne Cricket Club)
Mahli Beardman (WA - Melville Cricket Club)
Harry Dixon (VIC - St Kilda Cricket Club)
Cameron Frendo (NSW - Fairfield Liverpool Cricket Club)
Ryan Hicks (NSW - Mosman Cricket Club)
Sam Konstas (NSW -Sutherland Cricket Club)
Rafael MacMillan (NSW - St George District Cricket Club)
Tom Menzies (NT - Darwin Cricket Club)
Cody Reynolds (QLD - Gold Coast District Cricket Club)
Harjas Singh (NSW -Western Suburbs Cricket Club)
Tom Straker (NSW - Sutherland District Cricket Club)
Josh Vernon (WA -Midland Guildford Cricket Club)
Callum Vidler (QLD - Valley District Cricket Club)
Corey Wasley (WA - Rockingham-Mandurah Cricket Club)
2023 Australia Male Under 19 Tour of England:
Aug 26:
First ODI | The County Ground, Beckenham
Aug 28:
Second ODI | The County Ground, Beckenham
Aug 31:
Third ODI | The County Ground, Beckenham
Sep 2:
Fourth ODI | The First Central County Ground, Hove
Sep 4:
Fifth ODI | The First Central County Ground, Hove
Sep 8-11:
First four-day game | New Road, Worcester
Sep 16-19:
Second four-day game | The County Ground, Northampton
Originally published as The Australian Under 19s cricket team named
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