By Adrian Meredith
VICTORIA, Australia (TheSportsNext) August 11, 2012: History says that the Under 19 World Cup plays a big role in
the future of players who are involved in it. About half of the players who end
up representing their country had previously played for their country at Under
19 level - the other half presumably mature a bit later. And over 90% of them
will end up playing at first class level. So what can we expect from these
players?
Sorry to international people but I am only going to focus
on Australia's team - for now.
Cameron Bancroft opened the batting in the first match and
is from Western Australia. He is very nearly 20 years old already, which makes
me wonder how he qualifies for "Under" 19 - or is it meant to read
Under 20? He has played domestic one day cricket for his state - 3 matches, 1
run. Pretty woeful for a specialist batsman! His recent scores are 2, 5, 76,
47, 20, 3, 31, 2 & 6 - again pretty woeful for a specialist batsman! In 2
matches he played as a wicket keeper - for some reason this Australian side has
several wicket keepers - where he took a combined total of 4 catches and 1
stumping from 2 one day games - pretty darn good. But this record looks pretty
ordinary and while he has already played for his state he would have to improve
dramatically to ever play for his country. He is young so you never know. He
may not play all that much more for his state either unless he improves quite a
bit.
Jimmy Peirson is even older, even closer to 20 years of age,
and also opened the batting, as well as keeping wickets. Two keepers opening
the batting with each other! He is yet to play for his state but his recent
Under 19 scores are: 0, 128, 3, 11, 10, 5, 54, 0 and 21. Other than the 128,
and perhaps the 54, these are pathetic scores, suggesting that he really should
not be opening the batting! Perhaps it was a hunch based on his 128 in the warm
up match against Scotland. A pretty silly hunch! As a keeper, he has taken a
total of 12 catches and 1 stumping from 8 matches, a decent return. He would
want to improve on his batting if he wants to be selected more regularly.
Meyrick Buchanan is actually under 19, a bit of a surprise
in this tournament, and has played a state domestic match already, where he
scored 11 runs off 17 balls in a Twenty/20, a pathetic strike rate. His recent
Under 19 scores are: 16, 13, 21, 28, 2, 15, 59, 38, 20, 51. These are decent
enough scores, with a lot of consistency - he got double figures on all but 1
occasion. His strike rate has been decent too. In amongst all of that he has
scored 2 half centuries - a pretty decent return. He looks a good prospect and
after this World Cup may find himself in the mix for the Victorian state team
on a regular basis. If he improves a bit he could be in international
contention too.
Kurtis Patterson is just over 19 years of age, so we can
forgive him for being overage. He made his first class debut, as I mentioned
previously, and scored a whopping 157 & 6 not out - a man of the match
performance. While the match conditions weren't too challenging, it was
nonetheless an important innings in what ended up being a fairly close match.
His recent scores are: 19, 39, 9, 52*, 0, 83, 0, 76, 99, 157, 6*. The two 0s
are a bit of a worry but other than that those scores make for some fantastic
reading. 4 half centuries and a century in his last 10 innings. Every 2nd
innings he is getting at least 50, on average. In the most recent match, it was
his effort that led the recovery, in what was virtually a man of the match
performance - albeit an unheralded one and one that didn't look it on the
scoreboard. So many times he has been the match winner in this team, both
winning the match when it looks lost, and giving them a chance when it is very
much lost, as well as making sure of it when they are ahead. Truly a champion,
already. His match winning ability is reminiscent of Mitchell Marsh and, like
Mitch, Patterson looks like not only a future Australian player but a future
Australian captain. In fact, I think that he should be put into the Australian
team within the next year.
William Bosisto is just under 19 years old and an odd choice
as captain, as he isn't in the best of form. His recent scores are: 35*, 10*,
24, 12, 24, 5, 67*, 14* and 4. He also bowls occasionally and has taken: 0/33,
0/14 and 1/23. Overall, while not
terrible performances, they aren't really good enough for him to be captain. He
has a lot of not outs and he also bats very slowly. In the first match against
England his partnership with Patterson helped to set up the match and then he
was the sheet anchor that allowed Travis Head to go berserk and win the match.
But he really is struggling. As Under 19 captain he should expect to eventually
play for his state, in his case Western Australia, but I am not sure that they
will be in a huge rush to sign him up. He would need to improve a fair bit to
be in contention for national honours.
Travis Head is just under 19 years old and has played 4
first class matches (but no ODD or T20 matches). He has scored 219 runs at an
average of 27.37 with 2 half centuries, a pretty decent start. In his recent
matches he has scored: 57*, 87, 6, 43, 3, 12, 4, 54 and 28. He also bowls
occasionally and has taken: 1/27. His returns are reasonable and he has already
played first class cricket for his state of South Australia. Oh and guess what?
Yes, he can keep wicket! Ha! He might expect to play a few more first class
matches but he has far too many low scores to be in serious contention for a
national call up for a while. But then again Peter Forrest was selected on
less, so you never know.
Ashton Turner is well over 19 years and is yet to make his
first class debut. His recent scores are: 10, 80, 9, 7, 3*, 7, 0, 27 and 36. He
is more well known as a bowler and his recent returns are: 3/30, 1/43, 5/47,
3/38, 0/31, 0/42, 1/65, 0/21, 0/75 and 0/61. In the first match of the
tournament he should have been named man of the match after a fantastic spell
of bowling but instead the highest scoring batsman Travis Head got the nod.
Turner is a bit hit and miss with his bowling, as you can see with 1 wicket in
6 matches before his last 4 where he has taken 12 wickets in 4. His batting is
also hit and miss. State sides would be reluctant to pick him but then again
they might. He is a spinner so might get an easy way in.
Mark Steketee is almost 19 years of age and is well and
truly known as a fast bowler. His recent
scores are: 0 and 8*. As a bowler, he has the returns of: 2/35, 0/24, 1/14,
1/21, 0/29, 0/28 and 0/31. At least he hasn't gone for a lot of runs but he
will want to pick up some more wickets as the tournament progresses. Just the
same, he was one of the Australian bowlers that helped to contribute to the
first up win. He may get a state call up at the completion of the tournament,
at least in limited overs matches. And you never know with some improvement, or
even just as a hunch, he could be selected to play for his country one day.
Joel Paris is well over 19 years of age and is a left arm
fast bowler. His recent scores are: 8, 2, 10*, 0* and 0. As a bowler, he has
the returns of: 2/35, 2/49, 0/41, 2/40, 2/30, 1/45, 2/34, 4/62, 1/44, 4/40 and
0/34. These are some pretty impressive returns! If he keeps that up, he will be
pushed straight into the Western Australian state squad and if he keeps it up national
honours must be just around the corner! Of course, he'd need to be able to
translate that to the better batsmen that are in the first class and
international arenas.
Gurinder Sandhu is just over 19 years of age and is the
first Indian-born player to play for Australia at any level. This comes just a
year after Usman Khawaja was the first Pakistan-born player to play test
cricket for Australia. His recent scores are: 0*, 0*, 2, 5*. He is good at
getting not outs! But he is really a full time fast bowler and his returns are:
3/27, 5/51, 0/33, 1/36, 1/41, 1/37, 3/50, 0/25, 3/40 and 2/32. These are some
pretty impressive returns, though a bit inconsistent. He must compete with
Paris for the title of best bowler. The problem is that Indians aren't known as
very fast bowlers and hence he may struggle to find acceptance at the state
stage. If he was a batsman it'd be different! But if he keeps this up he may be
impossible to ignore. The press would love to see him given at least one match
for Australia so he may just get that wish. But then again Richard Chee Quee 15
years ago or so was very nearly the first Chinese player to play for Australia
but was never quite good enough; so Gurinder Sandhu may just have to earn his
spot like everyone else.
Shane Cassell is just under 19 years of age and is a spin
bowler. His recent scores are: 17, 53, 15*, 9, 6* and 0. His recent returns
are: 0/14, 2/57, 1/27, 4/62, 1/60, 1/30, 4/26 and 0/23. The two 4 wicket hauls
stand out but really he is too inconsistent. With his batting most of the
scores are pretty terrible but then he scored a 50. He just seems so
inconsistent. I can't imagine him getting a shot at first class level for a
while and he will really need to work on his consistency.
So, in summary, I think that the following players look like
they could play for Australia: Kurtis Patterson, Joel Paris, Gurinder Sandhu
The following I think will play state cricket and with some
improvement may get a national call up: Meyrick Buchanan, William Bosisto,
Travis Head, Ashton Turner.
The following I think may eventually get a state call up: Jimmy
Peirson, Shane Cassell, Mark Steketee
The following I think won't play state cricket unless they
improve significantly: Cameron Bancroft (though he already has played state
cricket - 3 matches, 1 run)
So there you have it. These are my tips for how they will
go. I might make another assessment at the end of the World Cup.
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