IT might be the middle of winter and therefore about as far away from cricket season as you can get, but that hasn't stopped Bathurst prodigy Ryan Peacock reaching another milestone.
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The Rugby Union Cricket Club all-rounder was given a nice reminder last month of the esteem he is held in at the higher levels after he was picked in a major academy squad for the 2016-17 season.
Peacock was named in the ACT-NSW Country Under 18s Academy group which will involve a number of camps and competitive matches.
While it is unknown if he will be selected in the actual teams, he will be competing at the NSW Country Colts carnival in Dubbo in September, and if picked he will contest the under 19s State Challenge in Sydney later that month.
In November, the ACT-NSW Country squad will trial against the under 19s Metro Sydney team in Sydney, and from there he could find himself at the under 19s Australian Championships in December to be held in Adelaide.
So in demand are his services with the bat and his left-arm orthodox spin, he could have to sit out a major carnival given that the State Challenge coincides with the NSW All Schools matches he is scheduled to play in September.
Should he be picked for the State Challenge, Cricket NSW will have the final say in forcing Peacock to miss the All Schools tournament.
"He has made similar squads and teams before but not at this level for this age group," Ryan's dad Steve Peacock explained.
"He's played for the Western Zone under 19s and been in the Country-ACT squad for the under 17s but this is something new for him.
"This doesn't guarantee him a spot in any teams or anything like that, but it does identify a clear path for him to progress through, and the challenge is certainly there in front of him now to perform and earn selection in the squads for higher competitions to come."
Initially in his career, Peacock was a highly-regarded batsman with plenty of technique and patience.
In the last two seasons, his bowling has rapidly improved to the point where his dad says it may have even overshadowed his batting.
"I think it might be 50-50 at the moment in terms of what the coaches and selectors are picking him on, they possibly even regard him more as a bowling all-rounder who bats somewhere around six or seven.
"There's no doubt that his bowling has improved a lot, and his confidence has gone up as a result given that he's been given the opportunity to bowl for the Bathurst opens team. His batting has improved as well from playing alongside guys like Jameel Qureshi and Josh Toole."
The test for the rising star now is to maintain the same levels of improvement he has shown over the last 24 months as he makes the transition from junior representative squads to higher age groups.
"There are a lot of distractions at his age, he's going to turn 17 later this month, he plays at a reasonable level in soccer as well which takes up a bit of his time," Steve Peacock said.
"The big thing is that he continues to get better, which comes down to attitude. He loves a challenge so hopefully he can rise to it."