By Tara Murray
The Central Highlands under-17 team finished a solid third in their pool in the Youth Premier League championship.
The championship, which replaces the state titles, involves the best players from each region facing off to be the best region in the state.
The Highlanders finished with a 4-3 record, including a win against the Western Spirit which finished second in their pool.
Highlanders coach Simon Ogilvie was thrilled with how the competition panned out.
“The girls have been really good and enjoyed the week and are a pretty close group now,” he said.
“They’ve made memories for the rest of their lives. They did a lot better than what they could have hoped for.”
Ogilvie said this year’s different format made it hard to judge how they would go.
Last year, there was under-18s, under-16s and under-14s, where this time there’s only under-17s and under-14s.
“We finished third in our pool, which is where about I saw us sitting,” Ogilvie said. “We finished about the same last year with a similar group. We had some really good performances.”
Their best performance was the win against the Spirit, who were in contention for the final until they came up against the Highlanders.
Ogilvie said it all came together for that game.
He said the standout element for the side during the week, and earlier matches in December, was the even bowling performance from the side.
In most matches, nearly every player got a bowl.
“We had to strike a balance between playing our best bowlers and sharing it around,” he said.
“There’s girls who are playing state level cricket and then you’ve got other bowlers.
“It didn’t feel like we were sharing it around. Girls that we could depend on, maybe thought we wouldn’t be depending on them at the start.
“They took ownership with the ball.”
Best with the bat was Tahlia Meier.
Meier, who is part of the Vic Country under-15 team for the national championships, averaged about 47 across the seven matches.
Ogilvie said Meier, who still has another two years in the under-17 age group, was outstanding and was his overall player of the tournament.
In a good sign for the Highlanders, most of the team will be eligible to be selected in the team next time round.
“I think we lose three players, so it’s really good signs for the future,” Ogilvie said.
“We’ve got 10 remaining in this age group and there’s pressure coming up from the under-14s which is healthy and there will be competition for spots.”
Among those in the team were East Sunbury’s Jessica Hourigan, former Kyneton and Riddell player Charli Rose Copeland, Bacchus Marsh’s Tomeka Fowlie and Eve Lalor, and Hanging Rock and Gisborne’s Holly Robinson.
