By JARROD POTTER
HE MAY have been picked just as a state schoolboys’ bowler but Cornish College student Jakob Woinarski is keen to show his all-round calibre when he takes on the rest of Australia next month.
Woinarski, 15, has been selected for his first schoolboys’ tour – picked for School Sport Victoria’s (SSV) Metro boys under-15 cricket team heading to Queensland next month.
It’s been a whirlwind for the 177cm Mordialloc paceman who didn’t expect much from the tryouts as the competition for state spots was extremely high-calibre.
“Feeling good – it came as a bit of a surprise and didn’t give myself the biggest chance throughout the tryouts so it’s a big shock,” Woinarski said.
“Tried out last year as well, fell a bit short, so this year was just to have fun in Brisbane and, hopefully, put my name up for Australian selection with the under-16s.
He hopes to take his fuss-free approach to cricket to the nationals in February and he always heads out with one goal in mind – to just have fun.
“Cricket is just about having fun so that’s what I’m there for,” Woinarski said. “Just want to take wickets and do my job for the team – keep it simple – and mostly just have fun and you play good cricket when you’re having fun.”
He made his DDCA Turf 1 debut late last year – always a promising sign of talent for a 15-year-old – and already has seven wickets from his four matches and a couple of rear-guard not outs to help extend the Bloodhounds’ batting depth.
“First game in the ones… it was a privilege to play with some of the people in that team and to do it at a young age,” Woinarski said.
“I love playing high-level cricket and its helped me progress quite quickly through the stages. That’s why I think my game is good enough to get me onto that state team.”
With 10 half-tons already in his junior cricketing journey and a couple of gutsy not outs from the bottom of the Turf 1 order, Woinarski sees his all-round game as an asset and hopes to convince the cricketing community that he’s not just another tall tailender.
“I like to think of myself as an all-rounder – if other people don’t see it then that’s not my decision, but I like to think I can bat,” Woinarski said.
“I think I can bat, but bowling has always been my dominant strength in cricket but I’ve improved my batting in the last few years with coaching.
“They tell us now that you can‘t be one thing – you’ve got to be a three-way player and everyone you can see in junior cricket now – if they’re a bowler they can bat as well and fielding is a big part of it, too.
“You can’t just be a bowler and get to the high level cricket teams these days – you’ve just got to work on everything.”
Woinarski will head off to the School Sport Australia 15 years and under Cricket Championships in Brisbane from 20-28 February.
