Unearthing a diamond

Designed to discover exceptional young cricketers from across regional Victoria, the program was conducted in Ballarat, Shepparton, Sale, Albury, Mildura and Warrnambool.

The Bushrangers hosted a series of practical cricket sessions during the annual pilgrimage with the aid of Cricket Victoria’s high performance and coaching staff.

Placed in two groups; under-17 and under-23, the program aims to enhance the state’s talent identification process by uncovering cricketers who may have slipped through the conventional pathway.

Established in 2003 by Bushrangers coach Greg Shipperd, the long-term mentor attended this year’s program with fast bowlers Jayde Herrick and Scott Boland in Sale.

“Over the years, regional Victoria has provided the Bushrangers squad with an enormous amount of talent and it’s essential that we continue to provide opportunities to those based outside of Melbourne to develop their cricket at all levels,” Shipperd said.

Cricket Victoria’s Country Game and Market Development Manager Chris Harris noted the program not only assisted the development of young players but also assisted current Bushranger players develop their coaching skills for the future.

Harris oversaw Shepparton’s proceedings with Ryan Sidebottom, Michael Hill and Papua New Guinea international Jack Vare.

In other areas, Will Sheridan, Guy Walker and CV Academy coach Jarrod Loughman visited Ballarat, while Commonwealth Bank VicSpirit fielding coach Paul Montgomery led Rob Quiney and Louis Cameron in Albury.

Jon Holland joined Steve Reid and CV High Performance Manager Tim McCaskill at Mildura and Bushrangers one-day coach Simon Helmot conducted a session in Warrnambool with Aaron Finch and John Hastings.