After their first-up loss at the Victorian Bushrangers under-18 state championships, Central Highlands coach Paull Jeffrey reminded his player of some key points.
He reinforced that things weren’t just going to happen and that the players had to refocus and play their roles.
The advice seemed to work with the Highlanders winning the remainder of their matches last week to qualify for the state final at the MCG on February 7.
For Jeffrey, it was encouraging to watch the side improve after every game. “If we hadn’t made the final, I thought this year would have been a waste with the side that we had, especially the batting talent.
“It was great to see them bounce back after the first match when we had our worst period with the bat. After that, they improved every game and were a really tight-knit group.”
After losing to Metropolitan West, Highlanders beat Metropolitan Northern and Barwon in the group stage. They then needed a bit of luck in their quarter-final against Metropolitan Inner South East.
Battling rain, it was up to the Highlanders’ last two batsmen, Mitchell Zakynthinos and Bailey Van De Heuvel, to get the job done.
“We had a bit of luck as I thought we were going to be washed out like last year,” Jeffrey said. “At this level, the last couple of batsmen normally bat in the middle order for their clubs.
“Ours is an extremely strong batting line-up. Mitch had opened before so I was confident we could get the job done.”
Batting first against Metropolitan Inner East, the Highlanders made 6-259 from their overs then restricted their opponent to 224.
Jeffrey said every player had made a contribution in at least one game.
Gisborne junior Tom Rogers was the standout, averaging 66.7 at the top of the order. “But every player had opportunities and they took them,” Jeffrey said.
“The bowlers really played well as a group. There wasn’t a standout with the ball; they backed each other.”
Next month’s final will be the third time the Highlanders have reached the decider in Jeffrey’s 10 years as coach.
They last won the title in 2013 when former under-19 Australian cricketers Matt Short and Pat McKenna were on the team.
