Two of Armidale's best up-and-coming cricketers are one step closer to competing at the national championships in their age groups.
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Jackson Gwynne was named in the ACT/NSW Country male under 19 academy squad and Vanessa Simpson in the under 15 female squad when they were announced last week.
The duo will train during the winter months before the final team selections are narrowed down from the preliminary squads of 20.
A number of players from the region have also made ACT/NSW Country squads: Deni Baker, Lara Graham and Jess Davidson (under-18s); Dylan Smith, Landan Price and Jack Sylvester (under-17s); and Will Fort (under-19s).
Gwynne was in this position two years ago in the under-17 squad.
Back then, as a 15-year-old, Gwynne had only just made a remarkable step up to representative cricket.
In the two years since, he has gone on to star in grand final wins for Easts in the Armidale first grade competition and played NSW Country Championships in both the under-18s and opens teams.
Having been in the further honours system for more than just one season now, Gwynne said he is more sure about what to expect.
"It gives me more of an idea of where I am at and where I could go," he said.
"I am expecting it to be a fair bit better, a fair bit more developed because we were all pretty raw two years ago and we are all pretty different now."
Gwynne is one of the most dedicated cricketers coming through the Armidale ranks with hours and hours spent training.