BRIERLY-Christ Church captain Leigh Pollard is acutely aware of the benefits and drawbacks that come with being at the helm of a youthful cricket squad.
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Being able to help teenagers successfully make the transition from juniors to seniors is among the bigger rewards the role can deliver.
But long days in the field under a scorching sun can be tough on those still adjusting to the demands of division one – something Pollard discovered last season.
“At the end of the year we were a bit drained and we had some bad results. At times we had a couple of 14 and 15-year-olds playing. The long days took their toll,” he said.
Still, there was a silver lining to the Bulls’ fifth-place finish in the Hopkins conference, only ahead of Nestles.
“I’m proud of the fact we blooded five or six players under the age of 17 last year,” he said.
“There are exciting talents like Jacob Brooks and Jed Henderson, Harry Rooke, those guys coming through.
“We’re going to be well-placed for the future. The more cricket we can get into these guys, the better we’ll be.”
That future arrives next weekend when Brierly-Christ Church starts its Warrnambool and District Cricket Association top-grade campaign.
We’re going to be well-placed for the future.
- Leigh Pollard
The Bulls meet Port Fairy in a Twenty20 match at Colledge Oval. Merrivale, Wesley-CBC, West Warrnambool and Allansford are their other Hopkins conference rivals.
Pollard said recruits were in the pipeline but there had been no departures. As for expectations, “as far as the group wants to go”.
“We made the Twenty20 final last year, we’d like to go one better in that regard. It is a young group so the sky is the limit,” Pollard said.
“I’m not one to put expectations on them, I’m not one to sit there and say we’ll finish in the top two. As long as we all play to the best of our abilities, that’s all I can ask.”
But he admitted their two-day form needed to improve. Their six wins last summer included three in Twenty20s and two in one-day matches.
“Probably the shorter formats suit some of our players. The younger generation coming through, the Twenty20 and one-day formats tend to be what interests and excites them,” he said.
“There is definitely room for improvement for us in the two-day format. But as the fixturing goes, the first three months of the season are one-dayers and Twenty20s. They’re what we’ve been focused on.”
