By RUSSELL BENNETT
KOOWEERUP is undoubtedly in ‘win now’ mode in the West Gippsland Cricket Association’s Premier tier.
The Demons are the two-time reigning champions and are hell-bent on making that a historic three-on-the-trot.
So, they could be forgiven for sticking with the tried and true of pumping even more experience into their first eleven.
Instead, they’ve gone the other way. Where possible, they’ve given some of their young up-and-coming stars a shot at the big time.
On Saturday, Mitch Cammarano – who only just turned 14 last month – became the latest to earn his Premier stripes.
The prodigiously gifted young batsman averaged an astonishing 317 in Under 14 Red last season and was only dismissed once in his entire 2014/15 junior campaign.
He has a top-score of 45 in senior cricket this season, following on from an undefeated half-century in E Grade in 2014/15.
He wasn’t just gifted his spot in Premier against Cranbourne Meadows on Saturday – he had to earn it.
Mitch was also announced as Under 14 South East Sharks captain recently for the side taking part in the Victorian State Championships in January.
Much like in the Kooweerup Premier side, he relishes the chance to push himself alongside “gun cricketers”.
“A few years ago I came down and trained with the senior boys for the first time,” he said.
“You get so much confidence doing that because you get the chance to face some gun bowlers, so when you go back to the juniors you feel more confident because you’re facing the younger boys. It’s really helped me out.”
Now in his fourth year at Kooweerup, Mitch said he was “terrible” when he started playing.
“The next year I slowly got better and I’ve kept improving since,” he said.
“Training with those gun players sets a standard. I love it.”
Those gun players include the likes of Michael Giles, Chris O’Hara, Matt Davey and the Bright boys, and Mitch has learned from each of them – particularly Davey, who lined up with his own son in Premier for the first time recently.
“I was out of form early in the season and it was to do with my technique,” Mitch said.
“He (Davey) fixed one little thing and the next week I made 50 not out. My balance just wasn’t quite there and Matty helped a lot with that.”
Mitch, who exudes confidence, has a clear, lofty aim this season – to score his first ton. He also wants to play more games in Premier if given the opportunity.
He said seeing the likes of Jason Cox and Mitch Davey (Matt’s son) reach Vic Country level has made him aim for the same heights. The new generation is continually pushing each other to improve.
Mitch, currently in Year 8 at St Francis Xavier, has plenty in his game he’s aiming to improve on – starting with his judgement on when to play at, or leave a delivery.
“My defence is getting a little bit better,” he said.
“But scoring straight down the ground, and my late cuts, need to improve a bit.
“I’m looking forward to pushing harder so I can play full-time Premier in a few years.”
