01-16-2024, 05:27 AM
(01-16-2024, 04:34 AM)ElwoodBlues1 date Wrote:The selection process is skewed to who the inner sanctum want in the team and has nothing to do with form or stats it seems...Years ago this was rammed home to me a Unders level, I had a couple of mates with sons in the U17 Australian Tour team, it's a big deal as it is basically the scouting ground for mens 1st Class. One of the lads was a talented batsmen and could have been anything but lost the desire, the other was a talented batsmen and a keeper who wanted to be a test player.
In Unders the keeper was being talked about as the next Gilly, but a better keeper than Mr Gilly. Anyway, after a very successful tour of the UK the kid returned home to basically be badgered and threatened by the NSW Cricket Mafia that he had to go and play for some spud NSW suburban team or his Australian career was over. He didn't go and they kept their word, he was a Victorian but never selected for representative cricket again and in the end gave away the dream to become a chippy. I'd normally question the validity of this story, except before it all played out I was shown the text messages that the kid was being sent by B-grade NSW cricket coaches.
"Ruck, ruck, ruck, ruck ....... Ruck, ruck, ruck, ruck"