THE announcement last Friday of the inaugural Cricket Australia Pathway Rookie Squad represents the widest cast of the game’s teenage talent net since the creation of the national cricket academy in 1987.
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The squad includes Crookwell junior Sam Skelly and Southern Zone teammate Matthew Gilkes.
The 52 male players, announced on Friday by Cricket Australia, are aged between 14 and 17 with all States and Territories represented in the initial squad.
The squad has been created with bronze, silver and gold levels that represent current and future playing and training opportunities, and stems from initiatives created as part of the new Australian Cricket Pathway.
Cricket Australia National Talent Manager Greg Chappell said the group would benefit from an enhanced cricket experience as they work within their State and Territory high performance programs.
“The focus will be on improving the allround skills that the modern day game demands, as well as assisting each player by challenging them to grow as individuals away from the field,’’ he said.
“By introducing this program, we want to provide a quality cricket experience for players aged between 14 and 17 and increase their opportunities to stretch and extend themselves as they further develop their skills.
“The players have been nominated by the State and Territory Talent Managers as having potential, and will benefit from greater exposure through their Statebased high performance programs and the Bupa National Cricket Centre.”
“We will be able to better observe their development and especially in the case of the younger pace bowlers, work on gradually building up their physical capabilities to assist them to develop resilience to the rigours of fast bowling.”
Included in this program are the Australian Under-16 team, which was selected following the School Sport Australia 15 and Under championships in Darwin in June.
They will compete in the National Under-17 championships in Brisbane in September and again in November when they play against an Under-16 team from Pakistan.
Players selected in the squad include NSW allrounder Austin Waugh, son of test legend Stephen, and Victorian pace bowler Will Sutherland, the son of CA Chief Executive Officer James Sutherland.
Players hail from metropolitan and regional areas, with the most remote including Moree 14-year-old Patrick Montgomery (NSW), Humpty Doo resident Dean Fry (NT), Whyalla product Josh Pengelly (SA) and Townsville wicket-keeper Josh De Munari (Qld) who grew up in the township of Mena Creek near Innisfail.
