WGCA Country Week preview

By Ian Ferguson
WEST Gippsland Cricket Association selectors are to be congratulated with their bold investment in youth for this testing Country Week carnival which starts on Monday.
The teenage duo of Jack Benbow and Russell Lehman are both potential stars of the future and the high calibre of some opposition teams they oppose will accelerate their progress in the game.
The batting is potentially strong.
Mark Cooper is a class opener and will receive spirited support from Colin Tucker. Brad Miles, Luke Sibley, Trevor Johnstone and Travis Canavan are all capable toporder batsmen.
Useful support can also be expected from Don Kerslake, Matt Davey, Ryan O’Connor and Lionel Sexton.
Both Luke Turner and Tucker are capable keepers, so the team appears to be well served behind the stumps.
Bowling remains the team’s problem.
Dodd, Sexton, Davey, O’Connor, Canavan, Pitcher, Benbow and Cooper are honest toilers rather than strike bowlers, which explains why the selectors have gambled with the raw talent of Brendan McGrath.
The Nar Nar GoonMaryknoll speedster just might become the strike bowler that this team craves and if he does succeed in making early inroads in the opposition’s toporder lineups, then West Gippsland could surprise some of the more fancied teams.
This new regional carnival in Central Gippsland represents a significant challenge for West Gippsland.
Bairnsdale and Murray Valley in particular will be strong opponents and our team does not have a bye. Consequently it will not receive the maximum winning points that are allocated to teams that do have a bye in each round of games.
However there is also cause for optimism. The unavailability of the powerful AlburyWodonga and Shepparton teams greatly enhances the team’s prospects.
Furthermore the venues are within easy distance and climatically the team should be well acclimatised to playing in Central Gippsland.
Overall our team has nothing to lose and everything to gain from the new Country Week scenario and this determined and closeknit group of players should perform well.