IT only took one round of the Bathurst Orange Inter District Council season for Bathurst selectors to give Englishman Harrison Craig the opportunity to unleash his left arm spin in this Sunday's Rod Hartas Trophy opener against Mudgee.
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In an impressive Australian debut the 19-year-old spinner claimed four wickets for Bathurst City in the team's opening round win over Rugby Union, including figures of 3-20 in his opponents' second innings.
Hailing from the city of Peterborough in Cambridgeshire, Craig comes to Australia with a wealth of experience some of his home county's top level competitions.
"I'm over here to play, and play as much as I can, so when I got the opportunity I took it. I'm looking forward to it. Hopefully it'll be a lot of fun," Craig said.
"I play my cricket in the Northhampton Premier League and took 90 wickets there over the last couple of years. I play minor country for Cambridge, which is a strong standard where you get a lot of current and ex-pros playing in it."
Redbacks had success with Aditya Adey from Northern Ireland last season and will hope their latest overseas addition Craig can help the club go one game further than their preliminary final appearance in 2018-19.
Craig's impressive resume and encouraging debut bode well for the club, and he's enjoyed the early stages of the season.
"It's a different format, the two days. You don't get that back home, so that will take some adjusting, but I quite like it," he said.
"The pitch was nice on Saturday. There was big boundaries, and as a spinner I quite like that."
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Craig is part of a huge Bathurst City presence in this Sunday's representative squad to face Mudgee.
He's joined by Redbacks skipper Joey Coughlan along with Rory Daburger, Mark Day, Oliver Simpson, Clinton Moxon and Dene Rice.
"I'm really enjoying it at the club," Craig said.
"They're all a great group of guys who made me feel very welcome."
The Bathurst team is a three-club affair, with St Pat's Old Boys and Centennials Bulls players involved.
Saints' Andrew Brown captains the team and is joined by clubmates Matt Fearnley, Ben Cant and Hugh Parsons.
Brothers Blake and Kyle Aubin have earned their places after strong starts to the BOIDC season.
The Rod Hartas Trophy makes a return to the Mitchell Cricket Council calendar this season, featuring Mudgee, Blue Mountains and Gulgong.
The Bathurst-Mudgee clash will start from 10am at George Park 1, and weather could play a big role.
Players could be in for testing conditions. There is an 80 per cent chance of up to 10mm of rain falling and strong crosswinds are expected throughout the day.