Gearing up prior to leaving for Malaysia are, from left, Jimmy Cattanach, Sam Watts, Josh Nightingale and Luke Campbell-Drury, front.By Kath Gannaway
FOUR of the Yarra Valley Cricket Association’s star players have had their first taste of international cricket.
Sam Watts and Luke Campbell-Drury from Healesville and Josh Nightingale and Jimmy Cattanach from Yarra Junction returned home last night (Monday) after playing in the Australian representative Under 15 squad at the International Youth Cricket Carnival in Malaysia.
The carnival celebrated the 150th anniversary of the Royal Selangor Cricket Club.
The local cricketers joined members of the Australian Sri Lanka Cricket Academy to make up the team, which was put together in just four weeks and coached by retired Sri Lankan Test cricketer Ravi Ratnayake.
In an added honour for the Yarra Valley boys, Watts was appointed captain of the team just minutes before they flew out of Australia on Thursday.
He told the Mail after the carnival, playing against the local Malaysian teams and teams from Penang and Indonesia had been an exciting new experience.
Nightingale said the trip and the opportunity to play cricket overseas had been fantastic, even if the game results were a bit disappointing with a draw due to a wash out in the first game and two defeats.
Chaperone Brent Watts however was anything but disappointed.
He said the boys had delivered some quality cricket.
Australia was on 68 and in a very good position in the first game when the rains came.
“It bucketed down for a good couple of hours and it was decided to call it off,” Mr Watts said.
In the next game they played the team which won the finals.
“Our boys performed pretty well yesterday scoring 84, one of the top scores of the tournament. Sam scored 30 before retiring, including two massive sixes, and Josh, nicknamed by the commentators as “White Lightning”, a comparison with South African fast bowler Allan Donald, took two wickets with his first two balls,” Mr Watts said.
Another highlight, Mr Watts said, was a talk by Dav Watmore, the coach who steered Sri Lanka to the World Cup title in 1996, and Mr Ratnayake, both patrons of the ASLCA.
“Those guys had everyone hanging on every word,” he said.
“It has all been an amazing experience and a fantastic thing to have those blokes connecting with our young blokes.”
