The WA Country Cricket Board has named a 13-man squad to represent the state at the 2010 Commonwealth Bank Australian Country Cricket Championships (ACCC), to be hosted by Cricket Albury Wodonga from Sunday, 3 January to Thursday, 14 January.
Reliable all-rounder Rodney Ford from Williams will again Captain the side and will no doubt be keen to lead WA Country to their third triumph in the prestigious competition, following victories in the 1997-98 and 2002-03 seasons.
Goldfields' veteran Chris Johnston, who was named in the All Australian Country XI after a strong showing at the 2009 ACCC, will be Ford's right-hand man, while Harvey's John Crognale (left-arm orthodox bowler), Pinjarra's Jamie Lee (batsman) and all-rounder Nick Willis from Kalgoorlie will also return to the line-up from last summer.
Opening bowler and handy batsman, Jason Partington from Wongan Hills, will come back into the squad after a few years' absence.
But with several standout country representatives hanging up their elite pads at the end of last summer, the remainder of this summer's team are young and green, but with bundles of enthusiasm and talent, according to the team's coach, Shane Robbins.
“This year's squad offers a really good blend of youth and experience and also a lot of variation,” Robbins said.
Into the side come Bunbury locals Justin Woods, Paul Jones (wicket-keeper) and Ross Knoll, Danny Campo, Nick Murphy and Matthew Fink from Kalgoorlie and Esperance's Clancy Wheeler.
“Woods and Fink boast first-grade experience with WACA District Clubs and both have played two-day cricket, which is rare for a country cricketer, so that experience will be invaluable,” Robbins said.
“Campo also has first-grade experience with Gosnells and bowls both seam and left-arm off spin as well as batting middle order, and Murphy is a left-arm opening bowler who adds variation to the attack and has the ability to bowl long spells.”
Robbins also admitted he was excited by the promotion of three members of last summer's Country Colts squad to the senior touring squad this time around.
“It proves there is a clear pathway for country cricketers to move up through the ranks, which suggests the system is in good order,” Robbins said.
“Wheeler has played for the country colts for the past three seasons and now steps up to senior ranks as a number three bat and right-arm fast medium seam bowler, while Jones and Knoll have been promoted based on some impressive recent performances.”
The Championships, which are the highlight of the country cricket calendar, will see eight teams play each other team in either one of three formats – two day 100-over matches, one day 50-over clashes or the new and exciting version of the game, Twenty20.
And Robbins couldn't be happier with the fixtures, which will see WA up against the historically strongest sides in the competition (Queensland and NSW) in the twenty-over games, which he believed would give his side the best chance of overall success.
“Although exciting, the Twenty20 format is relatively new to many of our players,” Robbins admitted. “But we have some different strategies for the short version of the game and we'll look to be innovative as we're up against Queensland and NSW on day one and need to notch up early victories.”
While Queensland and NSW have dominated the tournament since its inception in 1984-85, Victoria and the ACT (as well as WA) have each won on two occasions. South Australia and the East Asia Pacific are yet to claim the title in its 25-year history, while this will be the first time the Northern Territory have entered a team.
WA team manager, Bruce Banyard, said the ACCC was the standout competition for country cricketers and singled out fast bowler Shaun Tait (from country SA) as the best example of an Australian cricketer who had graduated from the carnival.
“There are no carnivals for country cricketers which can claim to have the intensity or standard of competition as the ACCC,” Banyard said. “In fact, there is no other senior carnival in Australia that includes a possible eight games over 12 days.”
The squad will depart for Sydney from the Perth domestic terminal on Qantas Flight 568 at 2300 on Friday, 1 January and return to Perth on 15 January.
WA Country XI squad to play at 2010 Commonwealth Bank Australian Country Cricket Championships:
Rodney Ford (Capt, Williams), Christopher Johnston (V. Capt, Eastern Goldfields), Justin Woods (Bunbury), Matt Fink (Eastern Goldfields), Jamie Lee (Peel), Clancy Wheeler (Esperance), Nicholas Willis (Eastern Goldfields), John Crognale (Harvey), Nicholas Murphy (Eastern Goldfields), Jason Partington (Wongan Hills), Danny Campo (Eastern Goldfields), Ross Knoll (Bunbury), Paul Jones (wicket-keeper, Bunbury).
2010 Commonwealth Bank Australian Country Cricket Championship fixtures
Sunday 3 January am – Twenty20 match: Qld v WA
Sunday 3 January pm – Twenty20 match: NSW v WA
Monday 4 January – 50 over match: Victoria v WA
Tuesday 5 January 2010 – 50 over match: SA v WA
Wednesday 6 January 2010 – Rest Day
Thurs 7 and Fri 8 Jan 2010 – 100 over match: WA v East Asia Pacific
Saturday 9 January – Rest Day
Sun 10 and Mon 11 Jan – 100 over match: WA v NT
Tuesday 12 January – Rest Day
Wed 13 and Thurs 14 January – 100 over: WA v ACT
