All-rounder Jake Tarling signs with Highfields and District Railway Bulldogs for Toowoomba cricket season

The Highfields and District Railway Bulldogs Cricket Club is set for a massive boost for the Toowoomba cricket season, with a Leicestershire County Cricket Club academy product signing for the club. Meet Toowoomba cricket’s newest import here.

 

The Highfields and Districts Railway Bulldogs Cricket Club boast a strong history of bringing imports to the Garden City and giving international players an opportunity to test their skills against the best the Darling Downs has to offer.

Now, a teenage cricketer, who has caught the eye while playing at Grace Road as part of the Leicestershire County Cricket Club Academy, is set to swap the East Midlands for the Bulldogs’ kennel this summer.

Jake Tarling is the newest import to sign the dotted line with Highfields and Districts Railway Cricket Club and continues an incredible history of imports joining the club.

The exciting batting all-rounder, who can change a clash in an instant grew up in Milton Keynes and played club cricket for Buckingham Town.

Now, he is a member of the Leicestershire Country Cricket Club Academy – a club which famously helped English cricket stars Stuart Broad, David Gower and James Taylor break onto the scene.

Still only a teenager, he brings incredible experience to a side in eager of a boost, after the Bulldogs struggled to make an impact at A-grade level last year.

“When I was 18 I played a lot for Leicestershire Academy and then that progressed to playing Leicestershire second team cricket,” Tarling said.

“Then also I was lucky enough to play for the England Invitational 11 which is basically one below England’s 19s where we played against the Australian under-19s which was very nice.

Highfields Bulldogs Cricket Club's new signing Jake Tarling. Picture: X/Leicestershire County Cricket Club.

“I played club cricket for a team called Buckingham Town, I played minor county cricket for a team called Bedfordshire, where I got to play against some first class counties like Kent where I hit 140 (runs) against them which was quite nice.”

Now in his second stint in Australia, Tarling is eager to make his mark in Toowoomba and revealed why the region was the perfect place for him to develop his game down under.

“I was lucky enough to go to Adelaide last year, did the Darren Lehmann Academy, so (it is) my second time here to Australia,” he said.

“To have the opportunity to come back – I absolutely loved it last time, so (I am) over the moon.

“I am from just a small village in the UK and Toowoomba seemed to have that community vibe to it, everyone I met has been very welcoming, it seems like everyone knows everyone which is quite nice and appealed to me.”

Tarling hopes his experience in various high-level competitions across the UK will help lead the Bulldogs to a coveted finals berth and spoke of how he believes he can help his new club achieve that.

“Hopefully my batting, my ability to hopefully dominate all forms of bowling,” he said.

“Then just maybe experience on the bowling side of things, the field settings or bowling to different batters so hopefully I can bring a bit of knowledge and experience to the lads at Highfields as well.”

Along with helping the Bulldogs rise up the ladder, Tarling has his sights set on making his First-Class debut in the coming years.

“Obviously while I’m here I’d love to do as well as I can with Highfields and hopefully get us into a final,” he said.

Jake Tarling has signed for Highfields and District Railway Cricket Club for the 2024-25 season.

“But then when I go back home it is to play second team cricket and minor county cricket and do my best to secure a county contract somewhere.

“That’s definitely the aim for me over the next two years.”

While it may still be a reasonably new experience for him, Tarling has cherished the opportunity of being a part of the Leicestershire set-up.

“I obviously haven’t played loads of second team cricket, it is still quite a new thing to me,” he said.

“Just to be able to be in that environment with other professionals and other people trying to aspire to achieve that same thing, it has been a really good experience for me in terms of being able to learn off those people and hopefully take that into my game here or wherever I go next.

“It has been a great learning curve for me playing second team cricket and hopefully I can bring a bit of that to Highfields this season.”

The content summaries were created with the assistance of AI technology, then edited and approved for publication by an editor.