Talented teenager swings it

By Paul Pickering
AT 193cm, 16-year-old left-armer Jackson Coleman is a rare cricketing commodity.
So it’s not surprising that Victorian selectors decided they had to have the emerging Dandenong paceman in their team for the Under-17 National Championships.
Coleman, who is finishing Year 10 at Haileybury College’s Keysborough campus, will represent Victoria for the first time when the baby Bushrangers play their tournament-opener against the ACT in Perth on 5 January.
Cricket Victoria’s high performance manager Tim McGaskill said Coleman’s selection was a no-brainer.
“He’s a tall, athletic, left-arm swing bowler, which gives us a bit of added bounce and variety that we haven’t had in other years,” McGaskill said.
“He’s an exciting talent.”
Coleman is well aware of the natural advantage that he has over most of his fast-bowling rivals, but he knows that will only get him so far.
“Because I’m tall I can get a bit of bounce, and being a left-armer I can swing it in to the right-handers, which is usually one of their weaknesses,” he said.
“But I have to work on being patient with my bowling and not getting frustrated.”
Coleman, who is also a more-than-handy batsman, has been on the radar for state selectors for a while.
He played in the victorious Southern Rangers under-16 team in the state championships earlier this year and is entering his third season of open competition with Haileybury’s first XI.
It was at Haileybury that Coleman met fellow pace prodigy James Pattinson, who convinced the Black Rock resident to choose Dandenong as his Premier Cricket club.
Pattinson, who made his senior debut for the Vics in Perth last week, said Coleman has a similarly bright future.
“He’s a fantastic kid and listens to what everyone tells him about improving his game,” the 18-year-old Bushranger said.
“He’s a good prospect and there are big wraps on him.”
Coleman started the season with the Panthers – playing five games in the seconds and thirds – before school cricket took over earlier this month.
He enjoys playing alongside his school mates, but values the opportunity to share the nets at Shepley Oval with the likes of Peter Siddle and the Pattinson brothers.
“Playing school cricket with mates is probably more enjoyable, but playing for Dandenong is more challenging and better for me,” he said.
“And there’s a bit of a buzz around the place (Shepley Oval) at the moment.”
The Panthers have had a strong presence at Cricket Victoria’s High Performance Academy of late, and McGaskill said Coleman would have plenty of opportunities to follow in his team-mates’ footsteps.
“One of the things we’re always searching for is fast bowlers and, when we get a player of his size and skill, we’re always looking to invest time in them over a number of years,” he said.