Premier Cricket club Footscray to face selection dilemmas in 2018-19 season
FOOTSCRAY is set to have some pleasant selection headaches in Premier Cricket this summer after bolstering its bowling line-up.
North West
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FOOTSCRAY is set to have some pleasant selection headaches in Premier Cricket this summer after bolstering its bowling line-up.
The Dogs were served well by four fast bowlers — Hamish Winter-Irving, Lucas Dredge, Jonah Koch and Jack Sheppard — for most of last season, but the acquisition of promising Greenvale paceman Jordan Buckingham adds to the club’s stocks.
All-rounder Guy Walker will also be a big inclusion when he overcomes his injury issues.
Last season’s preliminary finalist has also secured leg-spinner James Muirhead, who has played five Twenty20 matches for Australia, from St Kilda.
“There’s a terrific group of young fast bowlers there,” Footscray coach Stan Nell said.
“Hamish Winter-Irving is already playing Futures (Victorian Second XI) and possibly in contention for higher honours in the future, and then behind him you have Ben Rosenboom, Jordan Buckingham and Jonah Koch.
“We’ve still got Lucas Dredge there and Jack Sheppard, who are experienced players. It gives us some really good depth.”
Nell coached Buckingham, who took 10 First XI wickets in 2017-18, when was in charge at Greenvale.
The teenager is rated as a Victorian prospect and starred for North West Wizards at the Under-18 state championships in January.
“I found him bowling in the nets one night to (Greenvale’s) VTCA boys. He was only 13 or 14 at the stage, and straight away I invited him to Premier training,” Nell said.
“We picked him in the fours and he worked his way through.
“At that stage there were quite a few people who thought I was crazy and didn’t know what I was doing.
“He’s 6ft 4 or 5, has really good athletic ability and they’re pretty much the ingredients to make a good fast bowler. He’s very consistent.
“With (bowling coach) Merv Hughes around as a mentor and that bowling group, the senior players there, it’s a really bright future for him.”
Ben Green has retired, while Tim Buszard is likely to call time on his career because of work commitments with AFL club Essendon.
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