TWO of Central North Zone’s Country Championship-winning Under 19 side have won berths in the senior CNZ side to play in next weekend’s senior Country Championships in Ballina.
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CNZ Under 19 skipper James Psarakis and opening bat Ryan Hansen, who plundered two centuries in Coffs Harbour last weekend, have been named in the senior side under NSW Country Player of the Year Tom Groth.
Central North’s punt on youth doesn’t stop with the two teenagers.
Armidale’s Michael Dawson, Tamworth’s Harrison Kelly and Jack McVey, and Muswellbrook’s Angus McNeill are all in or just out of their teens as well.
“It’s a generational change,” said selector Terry Browne, who will coach the CNZ side when it plays its Country Championship in Ballina from Friday, November 21.
“A very young side.”
While Psarakis and Hansen starred for the CNZ Under 19s in their Country Championship win at Coffs Harbour, they will face stronger and quicker attacks in Ballina at the top of the order.
They will be joined in that top order by Armidale’s Michael Dawson, who has been in runscoring form at local club cricket after returning from an off season in England.
Harrison Kelly was in form in last Sunday’s CNZ senior trial in Tamworth, earning a berth with his brisk batting and then wicket-taking efforts with his left-arm spin.
He will bat in the middle order and carry the slow bowling duties with Psarakis.
Tamworth’s young paceman Jack McVey spearheads the bowling with young Muswellbrook paceman Angus McNeill, who plays his club cricket for South Tamworth.
They and Singleton’s Joe Leighton, who took 1-30 from his 10 overs in last Sunday’s CNZ trial, will be the main strike bowlers with Bective-East batsman Adam Jones also capable of zipping through a few overs of medium pacers.
“Jonesie is very handy to have,” Browne said.
‘Tommy (Groth) will captain the side and Matt Trappel will be his vice captain.”
While CNZ hopes to return to the North Coast for more success after the Under 19 triumph in Coffs Harbour, the State trials for the Under 19s have been put back a few weeks.
Selectors were to have named two Country-ACT teams to play Metro teams in Campbelltown next week (starting Tuesday) but those games have been postponed to December 9-11, CNZ chairman Terry Psarakis said.
“They haven’t announced the sides as yet either,” Psarakis said of the Country-ACT Under 19 teams.