By LIAM TWOMEY
IT WILL go down as a golden summer in Australian Cricket.
On the back of a 5-0 Ashes whitewash and beltings in the one day and Twenty20 series, Australia is back to its winning ways.
But it is not just at the top level where plans for domination are hatched.
Cricket Victoria regional manager for the West Metro region, Duncan Harrison also has big goals for the future.
Working in one of the state’s fasting growing regions, Harrison has seen junior cricket in the West flourish in recent times.
Not surprisingly, he is hoping the trend continues.
“We want to be the biggest participation region, we want to have the strongest standards and the best coaches. We want cricket in the West to be powerful,” Harrison said.
“We want everyone looking over at us in envy.
“We have got a bit of work to do but we are making progress. We think we are lifting the standard of cricket in the West and hopefully that keeps going and keeps growing.”
According to Harrison, one of the keys to building cricket in the region has centred on helping juniors transition from the introductory In2Cricket program to more structured competitions.
Where youngsters who weren’t ready to make the jump may have previously been lost to the game, they are now staying in cricket for longer through the T20 Blast program.
Western Region Junior Cricket Association president Chris Hatzistavrou has seen first-hand the progress junior cricket has made in recent seasons.
He believes another key to growing the game has been bringing the West’s separately run junior competitions under one banner.
“We have got a lot more organised now,” Hatzistavrou said.
“We used to have three or four junior associations and we are now one big association. We have got all the administrators on board. We have got a super group of people that are all focused on junior cricket. “The Williamstown Competition and the old West Metro merged about four years ago and we are in our fifth season now. Prior to that, we had the old Footscray Competition and the old Sunshine Competition and the Churches Competition that merged to create the Western Region.
“We have got all the associations together as one so when we have meetings … all the information is going out to all the people at the same time.
“Once you make it easier for people to run a competition, it is then easier for people to run a club.”
While participation at junior level heads in the right direction, there is also an increased emphasis on helping top talent climb the ladder.
The West’s premier cricket club, Footscray Edgewater launched its Bulldogs Academy last year and is already working with the region’s elite juniors.
During the Christmas break, the academy organised a tour of Tasmania while there is also a tour of Sri Lanka planned for the winter.
“I think traditionally, we have struggled in our pathway programs in the early age groups against the private school sector,” Harrison said.
“Maribyrnong College has been a good one to come in and plug that gap as well and it’s great for us to have a sports school.
“The Bulldogs Academy has created opportunities for a whole lot more cricketers to taste a lot more serious cricket.
“There is going to be some sensational opportunities for cricketers growing up in the Western Suburbs over the next five or 10 years.”
It isn’t just junior boys’ cricket where cricket in the West is expected to keep growing.
The junior girls’ game is also expanding quickly after the successful launch of the Molly Strano Cup.
“We have launched a program aimed at girls playing against girls and we have probably got about 40-50 players playing regularly,” Harrison said.
“We played a game at the MCG against Southern Districts and our girls won that game. It was a curtain raiser to the Stars and the Strikers (Big Bash League). That is an area that we are certainly looking at and want to develop over the next few years.”
After back-to-back Ashes series and the success of the third Big Bash League, clubs are also preparing for an increase in numbers next season.
“The Ashes series this year has been a story of success and mums and dads want to get their kids on board,” Hatzistavrou said.
“I run a Milo program myself which is for the little tackers. I have only got a small group of about 30 and I have had a couple of phone calls even this week inquiring about it.
“If I have a small group and I am getting a couple of phone calls then I’m sure others are too. I don’t normally get calls at this time of the year. It is normally tailing off.
“It is obvious that the interest is there which has been generated through the Ashes Series and the Big Bash as well. It might be only a one or two per cent increase but we will probably start to feel that again next year.”
