Ringwood cricketer Dylan Walker was selected for Victoria’s u19 Metro Emerging Players squad, making him the only one from the Yarra Ranges to do so this season.
Announced by Cricket Victoria on 20 June, Mr Walker said he was confident he’d get selected to play at the u19 National Championships in Western Australia later this year.
“It feels pretty good, after being called up late last year into the team, I assumed I was going to get picked but obviously I’m always happy to be picked in a squad like this,” Mr Walker said.
Originally playing at the Warburton Millgrove Cricket Club before it became the Seville Burras, Mr Walker began his cricketing career as a batter at six-years-old.
He had fond memories at the Seville Burras – he said it was a nice environment being surrounded by all of his mates from Warburton Millgrove Cricket Club while getting experience in a new league.
“I loved it,” he said.
“I was playing with Seville and meeting all the new people, everyone’s all really nice and I liked the locals.”
Inspired by his father who played at Ringwood, Mr Walker always had his sights set on playing at the higher ranks.
“My dad played at Ringwood, so it was always a goal of mine to get to Ringwood one day and hopefully play there.”
“As a junior, I was more of a batter that could bowl a little bit. I bowled mediums, and then one time I changed up, started bowling some off-spin.”
“It was always a chance to hopefully play in some higher leagues and stuff, so when I started playing senior cricket against grown men and bowling against them, and I was going okay, I thought, you never know, it was always a chance.”
He bowls left-arm orthodox which he said a lot of people struggled to play against.
“It’s just a mental game and being able to keep trying to hit the spot and just keep working on my areas.”
The u19 National Championships take place from 30 November to 9 December.
Ahead of his first training session this Sunday, Mr Walker was confident in his ability.
“I’m not too nervous as this is my third year in the system, I’m going to bring my best to every training and every get in and show it. I’m pretty confident, so here we go.”
Being the only person in the squad from the Yarra Ranges, Mr Walker said he was proud to represent the region at the national level.
But he mainly was focused on doing it for his family.
“I want to do the best I can, not just for the Yarra Ranges, but for myself and family. So, I’ll see how far I can go.”
