After an entertaining 29-run innings, Dandenong opener Brett Forsyth was trapped in front of the stumps. By Marc McGowan
THE burgeoning stocks of young cricket talent in Dandenong were on display in a Victorian under 19 trial match at Casey Fields on Sunday.
The game was played as part of the selection process for the under 19 national championships in Hobart in December.
A 13-man Victorian squad will be taken to the championships for four one-dayers and three two-dayers.
Dandenong Panthers James Pattinson and Brett Forsyth padded up, while exciting opener Kumar Sarna would have played in the contest if not for being chosen in Victoria’s second XI side on his return from a tour of Pakistan with the Australian under 19 squad.
All three locals have a strong shot of making the cut for the carnival.
Pattinson would be a certainty, but the speed demon has been cut down by a major back injury from which he has suffered since last year’s national championships.
Victorian high performance academy coach Simon Helmot is still considering selecting Pattinson, who captained one of the teams and made 18 runs in the one-dayer, solely as a batsman.
“James has to work on getting stronger and on his core stability,” Helmot said.
“Fast bowling is not an easy craft and it puts a lot of stress on the body, especially on growing bodies, and Cricket Victoria is very conscious of it.
“We need to be careful because James’ injury is a serious one … he’s a terrific young person and he’s really frustrated at the moment.”
Forsyth was arguably the most impressive of the locals, smashing 29 off 39 balls before being trapped in front of the stumps.
It continued a stunning beginning to 2007-08 for the teenager, which has thrust him into the mix.
“Brett has made an excellent start to the season and is taking his opportunity at the top of the order for Dandenong,” Helmot said.
“He made 90 on the weekend and 60 earlier on, so Brett’s certainly putting his name forward to the selectors and is committing himself well to training.”
Helmot said the scheduling of the fixture at Casey Fields was due to the quality youth in the district.
“It is great that we had a game there because cricket is nice and healthy out in Casey and the surrounding areas and we want to promote it,” he said.
