CAVALIERS opener James Ryan will this weekend complete one his 2013-14 goals when he lines up for the Western Zone under 19s at the NSW Country Colts Championship at Coffs Harbour.
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A late call-up into the squad following the withdrawal of Cowra gun Henry Hunt, Ryan will join Kinross opener Charles Litchfield as the Orange contingent in a young Western Zone outfit.
Ryan, at just 18, is one of the 13-man squad’s senior statesmen and is looking forward to proving a little point at the championship.
“I’m very pleased to get the call-up, it was a goal of mine,” Ryan said.
“When I heard it was 19s I thought I might be a shout for it. I’ve scored a few runs this year, and last year, and thought I might have done enough to get picked the first time. It hurt when I missed out but I treated it as a kick up the arse, motivation to score more runs.”
Western take on Illawarra in their first game today.
Ryan says it will be “interesting” to see how he fits into the side, adding a tournament of this stature will bring a wealth of experience to both his own cricket and his club Cavaliers.
“Coming in for Henry I might go straight into the top order but you never know. I’ll prepare myself for anything. It’ll be interesting to test myself, and push myself at that level,” Ryan said.
“Hopefully I can learn a few things. That way I can bring them back to club level and hopefully help out some of the other boys.”
In the rest of today’s opening fixtures, Central Coast play North Coastal, Newcastle takes on Riverina and Southern plays Central Northern.
Ryan was predicting an even championship.
“We’ve got a strong side, with plenty of experience,” he said.
“I can’t imagine there would be many stronger lineups than ours though. Newcastle and Central North are always strong I hear, if everyone does their bit we should do well.
“It’ll be a tough weekend but I’m really looking forward to it.
Western Zone plays Illawarra from 9.30am today.
Today’s result will determine who Western plays tomorrow, with the final of the championship to be staged at Coffs Harbour on Sunday.
WESTERN ZONE: Stuart Fredericks (c, Mudgee), Jeremy Judge (vc, Bathurst), Kyle Aubin (Bathurst), Nick Chapman (Mudgee), Conor Crook (Cowra), Alex Johnson (Bathurst), Charles Litchfield (Orange), Jacob McNaught (Cowra), Ben Patterson (Dubbo), James Ryan (Orange), Hayden Sealey (Parkes), Corey Suckling (Dubbo), Vince Umbers (Parkes).
