They may only be high school students, but these young men took the opportunity to play alongside adults and they definitely left a lasting impression.
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Bowral Cricket Club juniors Hal Canute, Will Preddy and Toby Smith made their first grade debut last weekend and all of them played an impressive game.
Captain of the Bowral first grade team Dave Spies said the three young men played superbly.
“They were excellent,” Spies said.
“We were short of players, and at this time of the year it can be difficult to secure teams. While others are away, we hope the remaining players stand up, and these boys took the call. They did really well in our games against Hill Top.
“All three took wickets, which was pretty cool to watch, as they were playing against some pretty experienced players out there. We all got around them, congratulated them and they were apart of the team effort on the day.”
Bowral went down by nine runs on the day, but that didn’t dampen the vibe and it made a great impression on the captain. “All of them love playing cricket,” Spies said.
“If they keep practicing, keep enjoying their cricket, continue in senior and first grade cricket, they will have long futures in front of them. They’re high school kids playing first grade cricket, that in itself is quite the accomplishment.”
Toby Smith said debuting for the first grade team felt pretty good.
“It was nerve wracking to start, but overall it was a good opportunity to step up and take the reigns,” Smith said.
“It felt great taking that first wicket. It settled the nerves. I learned how intense first grade was, and how much of a step up it is from second grade.”
Toby, Will and Cal all took wickets throughout the match and it had their confidence sky high. Over the two games played, Will took a hat trick of wickets.
“The first wicket got the monkey off my back and it gave me confidence with getting the next two wickets,” Preddy said.
“The first one I took, it was a bit of a set up. He was a dangerous batsmen and could make the boundary easily. I banged it in short, and he feel for the trap and he hooked it to mid-wicket, I was pretty happy my plan worked.”
Like his teammate Toby, Will also saw the step up in effort needed for first grade.
“They play with a lot of intensity, I was kind of shocked by it,” Preddy said. “They were really into the game, it was fun and great to be apart of.”
With this major accomplishment in their sporting careers behind them, even bigger dreams are on the horizon. “I’d love to play for Australia,” Preddy said.
“But realistically for now, I’d like to aim to play first grade cricket up in Sydney like my brother. It would be great fun, and I could make a lot of connections. That would be fantastic.”
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