Kingston Hawthorn to target teenage talent

New coach Ben Williams says young players are the key to the Hawks improving in Victorian Premier Cricket.

New Kingston Hawthorn coach Ben Williams is making no grand forecasts about the club surging up the Victorian Premier Cricket ladder in 2019-20.

But he is promising the Hawks will devote more time and energy towards attracting young players from the local area.

While the South East Bayside Breakers representative under-age teams are flush with players from suburbs surrounding the Kingston Hawthorn ground at Walter Galt Reserve in Mordialloc, few choose to play at the Hawks.

Williams — who has replaced Brad Rossborough — said that needed to change.

After establishing a good reputation as a coach in New Zealand — his website carries testimonials from Kiwi captain Kane Williamson and fast bowler Trent Boult — he relocated to Melbourne five months ago.

“We’ve got to get some good young cricketers into the club,’’ Williams said.

“I worked with a lot of international cricketers in New Zealand through my academy, bringing them through, and I’m hoping the credibility that I got there is going to be a drawcard to get 15, 16 year-old cricketers thinking Kingston Hawthorn will be the best club for them to go to for decent coaching.

“Put it this way, we need to be in their thinking.

“If we can get a good group of boys in, hopefully in three or four years they’ll be leading cricketers for the club.

“That’s where it’s going to start for Kingston Hawthorn, with attracting young cricketers, not just putting bandaids over things.’’

Williams said the Hawks had “magnificent facilities’’ and when he first saw them he couldn’t understand why the club had struggled in the past two years.

He said he appreciated the chance to coach at Premier level and to help turn Kingston Hawthorn’s fortunes around.

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The Hawks have picked a number of recruits, including Mt Waverley Sub-District pair Jake Rigby and Alex Deuchar.

Right-arm fast bowler Rigby, 20, was the Subbies Under 21 player of the year in 2018-19 and played in Mt Waverley’s inaugural First XI premiership in 2015-16.

He is originally from Mornington Peninsula club Heatherhill.

Englishman Deuchar, 27, has played at Mt Waverley for the past seven seasons, captaining the premiership team.

A Durham Cricket Academy graduate, he had two first-class games for the centre of excellence, as well as a handful of 2nd XI trial games for Worcester and Northants.

Deuchar also played more than 200 Premier League games as an opening bowler in the UK.

Dutch all-rounder Paul Van Meekeren, 26, has also joined the Hawks.

Van Meekeren has represented the Netherlands at ODI and Twenty20 level, and made his first-class debut for Somerset last season.

Kingston Hawthorn coach Ben Williams.

He is a right-arm medium pacer and a useful lower-order batsman.

Williams said Kingston Hawthorn was in talks with a number of other players from Premier clubs.

He said the Hawks were aiming for “gradual improvement’’ in 2019-20.

“The culture within the club, and getting the guys heading in the right direction, that’s going to take a little while,’’ he said.

“If you look at the statistics, no one is making big runs or bagging big wickets. If we can start to see guys improving, that will send a good signal about what we’re doing.

“Creeping up the ladder is one thing. But like I said, attracting players to the club and offering them a professional coaching program is our emphasis.’’