The Central Highlands players had their fair share of bad luck at the Cricket Victoria under-18 male state championships in Melbourne last week.
Having made the final the previous year, the Highlanders were hoping that with a strong squad they could go one step further.
Their campaign started well when they won the first match against Mallee Murray, but things went wrong from there.
Gun batsman Tom Rogers was withdrawn from the tournament, still suffering side effects of concussion suffered at the under-19 national carnival.
Nathan Fowler suffered a foot injury and keeper Hugh Knight battled a hamstring injury, while a couple of other players were also dealing with niggling injuries.
Highlanders coach Karl Mayne said luck just didn’t go their way.
“We were starting to think we walked under a ladder,” he said.
“Tom was having reoccurrence of headaches and we wanted to make sure he was right.
“His leadership of the group was something we missed. Hugh did well to keep playing and kept really well, while we weren’t able to get much out of Nathan.
“With a couple of other niggling injuries, it made it a little tougher than we would have liked.”
But Mayne, in his first season coaching the side, said the injuries gave other players opportunities. He said that while winning was a focus, seeing players continue to improve was just as important.
Despite the results, he said it was a thoroughly enjoyable experience with a really tight-knit group of players.
“It’s a learning experience, with several of this players playing at the championships for the first time,” he said. “Roby Lane bowled well as a bottom-age player. Zac Jenkins batted really well, while Jack Lalor’s leadership was exceptional.”
Jenkins topped the scoring for the Highlanders, making 164 runs at an average of 41. Former Bacchus Marsh player Lalor was the best of the bowlers, taking 10 wickets.
The under-18 side wasn’t the only Highlanders team in action last week, with the under-14 and under-16 girls playing in their state championships.
The under-16 girls won one match for the championships, finishing fourth in their pool.
The under-14 girls made it through to one of the two major semi-finals, in which they were downed by South East Bayside.
