THE second youngest player on Melbourne Renegades’ roster is eager to build her leadership skills.
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Mortlake teenager Georgia Wareham will enter her second Women’s Big Bash League season fresh from captaining Victoria to a fourth-place finish at the Cricket Australia under 18 national championships.
Wareham, 17, is eager to add to her leadership repertoire and wants to soak up as much knowledge as she can from her established Melbourne teammates this summer.
The all-rounder said captaining Victoria was an eye-opening experience.
“It was a bit different being captain this year, there was a little bit more responsibility in games,” she said.
“In the field it was a little bit different because you have to think all the time – be switched on for catches and run outs and then for tactical things.
“(Being with the) Renegades last year did help because I learned off their players and off their captain Sophie Mollineux.
“I took a few things here and there from her game and put them into mine.”
Wareham, who will complete year 12 at Mortlake College next year, will use her twice-weekly training sessions with the Renegades to fast-track her development, with both bat and ball.
“They are all experienced senior players and it will be good to pick their brains and ask them what they have been through,” she said.
Wareham played one match in her WBBL debut season.
She is hopful of becoming a regular contributor this year but concedes snaring a spot in the best XI will be tough.
The Renegades, coming off a bottom-placed finish in the competition’s inaugural season, will boast a youthful but talent-laden outfit.
Annabel Sutherland – the 15-year-old daughter of Cricket Australia chief executive James – has displaced Wareham as the youngest signing.
“I think we’ll be a really good team – have a young core with a few senior players,” Wareham said.
“We have Grace Harris this year, so she’ll be a good addition.”
Wareham will take strong form into the Renegades’ season, which starts on December 10, after making 142 runs at an average of 23.7 and taking 10 wickets at 15.7 at the under 18 national championships in Tasmania.
She earned an invite to an Australian talent camp in Brisbane next year – something she’s experienced and enjoyed in the past.
“It’s good to get up there and train at high-class facilities and gain access to Australian coaches,” Wareham said.
Fellow south-west talent, Port Fairy off-spinner Rosie Wynd, was also picked for the September camp.