BATHURST under 12s coach Clint Bryant has had some awkward moments to digest so far in the Mitchell Cricket Council junior competition, but it is all part of the process as far as he is concerned.
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Bryant’s team is still chasing its first win of the 2015-16 season after a couple of struggles with the bat, firstly against Mudgee and again a couple of weeks ago against Orange.
On Sunday they host the combined Lithgow-Blue Mountains side at Morse Park 2, and as long as he sees some more improvement, the coach will be happy.
“We have been pretty scratchy at the moment, especially with the bat,” he said.
“But I just want us to keep simple goals, batting 40 overs for starters and also making sure we don’t fall into bad habits when we lose a few wickets.
“So far it has been panic stations whenever we’ve lost a couple. We had three run-outs against Orange which isn’t ideal, but you don’t mind seeing it all that much as long as they are continuing to learn from it and improve.”
Against Mudgee, Bathurst were dismissed for 76 while they held Orange to 98 in round two before being restricted themselves to 6-59 from their 40 overs.
Last season Bryant had a ridiculously young team under his watch and even allowing for the results in the two matches this summer, he says he can see things getting better.
“There have been some massive improvements. All of them naturally have grown a bit which automatically means they’re hitting the ball harder,” he said.
“When they first started a lot of them were so small they couldn’t get it off the square. That’s not really an issue for any of them now.
“Our bowling has been pretty good so far but it is about getting early wickets. We missed a chance to get Phoebe Litchfield against Orange in the first over and it cost us at the end of the game.”
The Lithgow-Blue Mountains side had a win over Mudgee in their last match, though they were easily defeated by Orange in round one.
The Bathurst coach is wary of the threat they pose.
“They have got a really good young leg-spinner, Oscar Jones-Romeo, and he bowls a good wrong ’un and at this age any good spinner is a big asset,” Bryant said.
“Obviously you like to win and you like to see the kids doing well, but at this age it is all about just helping them in the right direction, and as long as we see some more improvement this week I’ll be happy.”
In the other age groups, the undefeated under 14s play Lithgow at Morse Park 1 while the under 16s, who had an easy win against Mudgee before falling over the line against Orange, take on Lithgow-Blue Mountains at the Sportsground.
