Footscray young guns ready for Geelong in Dowling Shield semi-final

Meet the exciting young prospects leading Footscray’s charge to a Dowling Shield crown ahead of a blockbuster semi-final against Geelong.

Footscray pair Josh Pace and Mitch Jamieson.

Footscray and Geelong meet in the Dowling Shield semi-final on Sunday in what could have been a grand final showdown.

The top two teams in the competition will instead battle for a spot in the decider after finishing 1-2 in Group A, the Dogs finishing top and the Cats advancing as the best second-placed team.

Fellow semi-finalists Richmond and Ringwood finished with inferior records but on top of weaker groups B and C respectively.

It matters little to Footscray who will look to continue their undefeated campaign.

The Dogs dominated the group stage, winning all five games in the elite Premier Cricket under-17 competition.

The team claimed a nine-wicket win over Geelong just over three weeks ago and coach Dervis Duradbegovic was looking forward to the challenge.

“There’s a lot talented players on both teams, so it will be a good showcase of the best 16-year-olds in the state,” he said.

“I was under the impression that after the group stage we’d get a rank and Geelong were second to us, so I thought we would have avoided them.

“The only game we’ve lost in the two years was against Geelong, we played them in Round 2 last season.

“I think (Henry) Melville and (Campbell) Snookes put on 170 or 180 and had us down on the canvas two or three times during the game.

“They’re an outstanding team and they’re results have been just as impressive as ours, hopefully we can repeat that dose again but we know it’s going to be a lot harder come semi-final time.”

Footscray will be led by captain Mitch Jamieson, who has scored runs for fun at underage level and in Premier Cricket Second XI.

The exciting 16-year-old prospect scored the third most runs in the group stage – 366 in five games at an average of 122 – hitting one ton and three 50s.

He also sits second in the Second XI charts with 443 runs at 44.30 having scored a breakthrough century – 105 not out – against Kingston Hawthorn on Saturday.

“Mitch is an outstanding talent. He’s got picked for the Australia Under-16 last year, he’s played Vic 15s,” Duradbegovic said.

“I was at Essendon and we had him in the development academy when he was 12 or 13 and even then there was that wow factor with him.

“He’s an unbelievable young boy, really mature, he’s a 16-year-old that bats like a 30-year-old and a great leader as well.

“He’s as good a 16-year-old talent there is in the state … a major prospect for Victorian cricket, let alone Footscray.”

Fellow Keilor junior and opening partner Josh Pace sits eighth on the run-scorers charts with 269 at an average of 134.50, scoring one century

“Pacey has been a bit of a surprise packet, he’s a year younger, a 15-year-old, and when I first saw him he reminded me very much of Matt Renshaw,” Duradbegovic said.

“He batted four to seven in the YPL and had a rather poor tournament but before the first (Dowling Shield) game I told him he was opening and his eyes popped out.

“Sometimes it’s just about opportunity and he’s been exceptional.

“What he’s done is expose himself and put his name out there for Victorian stuff, that’s what formats like this can do.

Meanwhile, with the ball, Muhammad Rafay leads the way with 11 wickets at 11.73 – good enough for third overall in the group stage.

The 15-year-old paceman took one of only four five-wicket hauls this season and is still eligible in 2022-23.

Having the likes of Australia Test and club legend Merv Hughes and 400-wicket Premier greats Allan Wise and Andrew Dickinson has been a huge asset.

“That (five-for) was a feel-good story from the carnival for us,” Duradbegovic said.

“The pitches have been really good and flat so to get a five-for (was excellent).

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“He’s improved enormously – he’s a good size and already had good ball speed – but his development working with our coaches; Allan Wise played for Victoria and South Australia, we’ve got Merv (Hughes) down there and Andrew Dickinson, who played for Carlton.

“He’s really aggressive, he’ll give the boys bumpers, and he’s got change-ups now too – on the weekend he pulled out the slower ball bouncer.”

Rafay and fellow bowlers Arjun Sehrawat, Liam Mason, Aiden Brasher and Jamieson will have their work cut out against the likes of Oliver Peake, Dowling Shield top run-scorer Henry Melville and Campbell Snookes.

Footscray hosts Geelong at Merv Hughes Oval on Saturday.