CRICKET
By Samuel Darroch
GIPPSLAND’S defence of the under 16 and 18 girls’ state cricket titles began in earnest last week when the region’s representative squads reunited at Traralgon Indoor Sports and Aquatic Centre under expert tuition.
Former centre of excellence and Australian women’s coach John Harmer, the biomechanics expert who worked on Dennis Lillee’s bowling action, led a five-hour session emphasising efficient technique to the champion teams.
Regional cricket manager Rob Wood said Harmer’s guidance was invaluable to the group, which again saw a significant player changeover from last year’s nucleus.
“He is the best coach of anything I’ve ever come across,” Wood said.
The Gippsland girls have become accustomed to elite coaching in recent years – Australian player Elyse Villani has been a constant presence – taking their game to new heights.
“The stuff she’s taught us, not just skills, but mentally how to approach a game, how to endure a game and last year was jut an awesome lesson for me with statistics and targets, it was so good,” under 18 player and state squad member Cassie Pollock said.
Cassie, along with under 18 captain Chelsea Moscript, was a member of last year’s under 18 state champion team, which won the final at the hallowed Melbourne Cricket Ground.
“(It was) phenomenal; it was a small crowd, but a beautiful ground,” Cassie said.
“It is what you dream for and to do it with your local girls who you’ve gone through pathways with, rather than with people you’ve only had a week with playing state, was an awesome feeling as well.
“We weren’t pros, but we certainly felt like it.”
A new season has brought with it excellent numbers.
Gippsland’s depth is such it fields female teams in under 14, 16 and 18 age groups, where many regional centres are forced to play combined age sides.
With about 100 girls in the initial under 14 squads the grassroots are growing, aided by the seniors in a system which gels from top to bottom age. “The amount of girls that we have is just awesome; we only used to get probably 15 at these sessions,” Chelsea said.
“Every year just bonding as a team (is important) and Gippsland does that really well, you see some other teams might not bond as well.”
Gippsland will be the only region to field two sides in this year’s three-day under 16 state championship to be staged in January.
The under 18 competition kicks off on 10 December.
