Sean McNicholl enjoying breakout season with Greenvale Kangaroos
In his first full Premier Cricket First XI season, Greenvale Kangaroos paceman Sean McNicholl is proving himself one of the best young bowlers in the competition, shining despite his club’s struggles.
Local Sport
Don't miss out on the headlines from Local Sport . Followed categories will be added to My News.
Emerging Greenvale Kangaroos paceman Sean McNicholl is enjoying a breakout season despite the club’s Premier Cricket struggles.
After getting a taste in 2018-19, the 21-year-old is enjoying his maiden full First XI season and racking up the wickets.
In the opening 12 games, McNicholl claimed 23 wickets to sit inside the competition’s top-10 wicket-takers.
PREMIER: FLASH JACK MAKES QUICK IMPRESSION
LEADER: GET YOUR PREMIER CRICKET NEWS HERE
PREMIER: LIONS STAR JOINS RARE 10K CLUB
McNicholl credited his improvement to an increased focus on cricket during the off-season.
“I didn’t play footy last year and one of our boys is a physio so he put me on a program to strengthen my legs,” he said.
“I played three games last year, I had tendinitis in my knee, but this season I’ve been injury free.
“I’ve been really happy with my form from an individual point of view, but I’d love to win a few more games for the team.”
McNicholl has claimed multiple wickets in eight of his 12 First XI matches this season and only gone wicketless once.
Combined with six wickets in the Vic Super Slam, McNicholl has set a new career-high season tally with three games remaining in 2019-20. The Kangaroos next best bowler is Hamza Ali with 12 scalps.
McNicholl admitted he struggled to adjust to the top flight last season as he battled knee tendinitis but was now more confident taking on some of the best batsmen in Victoria.
“I got really overawed last year,” he said.
“Now I’m just trying to focus on treating them like any other batsman, bowling a good ball and if they miss I get them out.”
The Greenvale junior said former Kangaroos captain Kyle Adams had had the biggest impact on his career.
Sri Lanka Test paceman Nuwan Kulasekara has proved an invaluable sounding board during the Super Slam season as have first-year captain Michael Stretton and coach Kaushal Silva.
“Kyle has been awesome over the last couple of years, he’s given me plenty of tips and been really helpful,” McNicholl said.
“Having Kula around the team, I’ve tried to ask him a lot of questions during the T20s.
“Michael and Kaushal have been really good, they read the game really well and help me come up with plans.”
Greenvale will look to finish the season strongly with matches against Casey-South Melbourne, Frankston Peninsula and Fitzroy Doncaster in the run home.