Premier Cricket: Williamstown’s Fraser Hay signs at Footscray
One of Williamstown’s top bowlers has earned a chance in Victoria’s pre-eminent competition after a standout 2019-20 season.
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One of Williamstown’s young guns is having a crack in the Premier Cricket ranks.
Fraser Hay, who turns 20 on Monday, has joined Footscray after a standout season in the Victorian Sub-District Cricket Association in 2019-20.
The left-arm paceman topped the Seagulls’ bowling averages chart last season after returning 21 wickets at 16.3 apiece as they were awarded the South-East group premiership.
It put the exclamation mark on a breakout campaign after Hay collected five wickets from eight First XI appearances the previous season.
Hay hails from Ballarat and signed with Williamstown in 2016-17 after featuring in its Craig Shield under-15 side.
Seagulls captain-coach Brent McMinn, who spent eight seasons in the Premier Cricket ranks, backed Hay to push his way into Footscray’s best XI.
“I think he’s got a massive future,” McMinn said.
“He’s a good country boy … a keen learner and I think will be a benefit to him.
“I think he’s got everything he could out of Subbies and is definitely ready to take the next step.
“I think he’ll be playing First XI Premier Cricket, if not this year, then certainly next year.
“Hopefully his body holds up. He hasn’t had any dramas with injuries so far, but he’s still young. He’s fit and strong, so he’s going to get faster and faster.”
While Hay is coming off an impressive season for Williamstown, he went to a new level in the finals series.
He grabbed 4-18 in the qualifying final against Taylors Lakes before collecting 3-22 against Altona in the semi-final.
The grand finals did not go ahead amid the coronavirus crisis, but Hay displayed his ability to perform in the big games.
McMinn also pointed to the fact Hay was limited to 130.4 overs from 14 games, meaning his wickets tally could have been higher if not for restrictions.
Under-19 players are limited to seven-over spells and 20 overs per day in the VSDCA, with breaks of 30 minutes (for one-day matches) and 60 minutes (two-day matches) between spells across the different formats.
“He’s always going to be welcomed back to Williamstown, but I really don’t want to see him for a while,” McMinn said with a laugh.
“Hopefully he can progress and we might be watching him on TV one day.”
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