REIGNING premier Woodford is reaping the rewards of placing faith in an ever-successful youth system.
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The Eels, who are vying for three-peat grand final success after taking out the last two Warrnambool and District Cricket Association premierships, have enjoyed a faultless start to the season.
The John Houston-coached side has collected three wins from three games, and trail ladder leaders Russells Creek and Nestles only on percentage leading into the first one-day round of the season.
In another string to its bow, the Bushfield powerhouse sent an ominous warning to the rest of the competition when it managed to down Nirranda without its captain – Nick Butters – and a host of other premiership-winning talent last Saturday.
Youngsters Jack Clifford and Alexander Jennings steered the ship, contributing with the bat, and staked their claim for further division one selection.
Houston said young talent was a major focus for the club.
“I think Hank (Schlaghecke) is the oldest player, apart from Ross Levett and myself, and he is only 24 or 25,” Houston said.
“Connor (Richardson) is another one who I would have thought was very underrated. Luke Wines is again only 21-odd.
“We’ve had pretty good success over the last three or four years with a young group and with that, the guys playing in the side understand their roles pretty well and are able to execute those roles pretty well.
“That’s always been part of the plan with the club, to give these young blokes the chance to play division one and to keep them playing together in the hope of having some success.”
Even though the Eels are yet to drop a game in the Twenty20 format, the dual premiership mentor rated last weekend’s victory among their best of the season to date.
Houston said remaining open-minded in the switch from Twenty20 to one-day cricket would be key for his side to continue their form against Brierly-Christ Church this weekend.
“I think you have to be able to play all facets of the game. You need to be able to play cricket that you’d play in two-dayers at times during Twenty20 games,” he said.
“We sort of look at developing our players for all formats of the game so they can transition between the formats at different stages in the game.
“In saying that, we need to realise we’re playing a 50 over game and not a 20 over game. It will be won by how we bat in the last five overs, not so much the first 20.”
Woodford’s one-day campaign will kick off against Brierly-Christ Church at the Bushfield Oval this weekend.
The Bulls are seeking their first win of the campaign after failing to claim a scalp in the Twenty20 rounds.
We've always wanted to give these young blokes the chance to play and to keep them playing together in the hope of having some success.
- John Houston