Picture courtesy of Noah Kelly. Noah keeping wicket for Beaumaris in Melbourne.
My first month in Melbourne seems to have flown by, probably due to the fact that there wasn’t much settling in to do with Beaumaris having been here last winter.
On the field, it’s been frustrating because we’ve lost our first two league games, missing out in key moments. In our last game, against South Caulfield, Ben Parker, who played for Leeds/Bradford MCC Universities and trialled with Yorkshire’s seconds, took a hat-trick against us and blew away our middle order.
I got 72 in that game.
Fingers crossed, I can contribute some more scores which help us get some wins in the coming weeks. We will be chasing 406 in 80 overs against Mordialloc this Saturday, although we think there might be some rain around.
Off the field, I’ve loved it. They’re a great set of lads and a great club.
This is the first time I’ll have blogged since the end of our home summer, so I’d like to reflect on that.
There were some really good team performances this year. We haven’t quite had anything to show with the trophies, but I guess that’s sort of how second-team cricket goes. You might play one team who’s got a full first-team XI coming back from injury one week and then a team with barely any pros and mainly Academy lads the next.
But we knocked off 400 to beat Warwickshire in a friendly at the start of the season, and to get into the habit of winning four-day matches is really important given you see how hard it is to do at first-team level. That’s what we all want to do.
Personally, it went well. I took on a lot of different roles this year, opening, batting at three and in the middle order, keeping wicket and captaining as well.
Within that, I was the second-team’s leading run-scorer in red-ball cricket (963 runs, 13 matches, three hundreds and three fifties, 48.15 average). That was a nice thing to achieve.
In terms of development and different challenges – learning about my game – I’d say that it’s probably been my most pleasing year so far given my game has definitely broadened.
If I get the call to play in the first team, you don’t know what role that will be in. So it’s good to have that versatility in the back pocket.
The change in format of the Championship competition in the twos has definitely been a good thing. We’ve moved on from it being decided on an average points per game basis to a five-game group stage leading to a final at Loughborough.
The only thing I would say is, ‘Can it not be for all our games?’
We played four or five friendlies at the start of the season, but none of them counted towards the table. They didn’t feel any different in terms of intensity because all the teams just want to win whatever game you play in. That’s the best way to develop.
The final is a really good thing. It’s another game in the calendar with something extra on it, and it with it being held at Loughborough it’s a chance for young players to be seen.
So, while I’m in favour of the Championship, I’d like to see it extended.
Back to Melbourne, where the weather hasn’t been too good so far. It’s been classic Melbourne, really, in that you could get anything. We’ve had the odd 30 degree day to tease us before it’s rained at night. Pretty similar to Leeds, I’d say!
We have only been playing red-ball cricket so far, but we start T20s on Tuesday. It’s a knockout format this time rather than a group stage, so you really have got to turn up and be at your best. But it will certainly be some fun to play T20s again.
The rules of the competition are that you can play a marquee player, someone not registered at your club. So I’ve been trying to get Beany to come down and play for us. Fingers crossed, he will do.
He’s one of a few Yorkshire lads in Melbourne again this winter, and they’ve started pretty well.
Will Luxton’s playing Premier grade cricket for Greenvale, and I think they’d only won one game in the last two seasons coming into this. But, anyway, Luxy’s taken over as captain and peeled off 120 in his first game in charge, which they won.
Dan Moriarty has also been in the wickets for Caulfield.
We’ve all met up quite a bit already. Luxy, Cliffy and Beany are all living together, so I’ve been round to check that they haven’t burnt anything down or anything like that. But all looks in good order.
We also went down to Junction Oval to watch Will Sutherland, so it’s certainly been good to see a few familiar faces.
I see Australia have released their Test squad with Jake Weatherald in it. He played at Barnsley a few years ago alongside Owen Smith, who knows him quite well. Smithy is also currently playing in Melbourne, quite close to me.
That’s going to be an incredible series. I’m going to the Adelaide and Melbourne Tests, and the excitement is definitely building.
Just on Owen Smith, he was obviously one of three lads handed their maiden rookie deals by Yorkshire last month alongside Jay Singh and Charlie (H) Taylor.
Smithy is very, very exciting to watch. He’s got an air of flamboyancy, and he’s got a lot of character when he bats. I think that’s how I’d describe him.
Singhy, he’s tall, swings it and is quick. He’s very similar to Ben Cliff in the way he bowls. He’s put some really good performances for the second team on the board and has bowled some unbelievable spells.
Then, Charlie Taylor. Well, I’m certainly not wanting to pin things on him this soon, but the nickname Young Brez has been knocking around the dressing room. He’s an absolute workhorse.
He never seems to have a bad day, he’s always Mr Consistent, always does the job, bowls the hard overs and is a very handy batsman as well as an extremely good fielder. So, yes, a very good all-round cricketer.
I’ll finish on quite an amusing moment I had a few weeks ago when I’d just got up, showered and was having breakfast. I flicked the TV on and came across the Canada T10 competition. Anyway, I nearly spat my breakfast all over the place.
I couldn’t believe that I was watching James Wharton batting in these Nike Air Max going out trainers with some borrowed kit from Dawid Malan. They were playing on this football pitch as well.
The story? Well, there was a group of us – 11 of us I think it was – who had gone to Berlin for a few days at the end of the season. It was a bit of a trip away, some sightseeing, before we all went our separate ways. You know, Jordan Thompson to Warwickshire, Jonny Tatts to Leicestershire and a few of us to Australia for the winter.
Anyway, a week later Wharts is on holiday in New York with his girlfriend when he gets a call from Darren Gough, who is head coach of one of the teams out in that comp (White Rock Warriors), to come and play.
So they fly straight to Vancouver, Wharts without any kit, to play in the same team alongside Mala and Tommo. It was incredible to watch.
On a serious note, though, it’s great for him that he’s getting these kind of opportunities.
