North-West Wizards’ run to Youth Premier League final set to be rewarded
North-West Wizards’ run to the Youth Premier League grand final is set to be rewarded with a number of players in line for Victoria Metro Under-19s selection.
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North West Wizards’ outstanding Youth Premier League campaign is set to be rewarded with as many as five of the region’s brightest talents in line for Victoria under-19 selection.
The Wizards marched into the under-18 grand final with an undefeated record but fell short in the decider, going down by eight wickets to South East Country Sharks on January 23.
Wizards coach Dervis Duradbegovic was confident several of his players would earn state honours on the back of their performances.
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“Overall, the tournament was outstanding, we dominated the games we played (until the final) and had some outstanding collective and individual performances,” Duradbegovic said.
“Kids play very little Twenty20 cricket and it’s challenging at the best of times for the big boys, let alone 16-year-olds.
“The next step is Victorian Under-19 selection … I’d dare say we’d have three or four, even up to five, in that squad.”
Victoria under-17 captain Billy Cootee (133 runs at 42.67) and Northcote teammate Jagadeswara Koduru (144 at 48) both finished in the Twenty20 competition’s top-10 run-scorers.
Essendon’s Daniel Deasy (six wickets at 8.5) finished in the top 10 wicket-takers, while Victoria under-17 representative Marcus Jackman is also a strong chance to progress.
The Wizards have produced some of Victoria’s best young talents in recent years and had five players in this season’s Vic Metro Under-19 squad.
Under-18 coach for the past four years, Duradbegovic has seen some impressive young players go on to cement themselves in Premier Cricket.
“Cricket in Victoria at the level is really healthy, there’s plenty of talent coming through,” he said.
“Marcus is one of the best prospects in Victorian cricket – let alone pathway cricket – he’s already playing first grade at Melbourne and played the entire Super Slam series.
“Jordan Buckingham is opening the bowling for Footscray and is part of the Futures (Victoria Second XI) program and Fergus O’Neill took a hat-trick for Melbourne.”
The Wizards’ under-16 boys team finished the Dowling Shield campaign with one win, while the under-17 girls finished with four wins, two losses and a draw as Plenty Valley’s Simran Gandhi led her team with bat and ball.