CA's Pathways Rookie Squad selected

Cricket Australia’s (CA) Pathways Rookie Squad has been announced for 2018-19.

The squad features 39 of the country’s most talented male teenage cricketers, aged between 15 and 17, who are eligible for this summer’s Under-17 Male and Under-19 Male National Championships.

This is the fourth intake for the program, which commenced in 2015 to help provide an initial development opportunity for Australia’s next generation of stars.

Three players from last year’s squad – Victoria duo Patrick Rowe and Mackenzie Harvey, plus Queensland’s Connor Sully – have received rookie contracts with their states for the 2018-19 season.

The program has helped to develop a number of players who have starred at underage level and since progressed to representing their state in JLT Sheffield Shield or JLT One-Day Cup cricket.

Among them are New South Wales duo Param Uppal and Jack Edwards, Victoria pair Will Sutherland and Mackenzie Harvey, Queensland’s Xavier Bartlett, Tasmania’s Jarrod Freeman and Western Australia’s Cameron Green.

The squad is selected by the Youth Selection Panel, which includes CA’s National Talent Manager Greg Chappell, High Performance Program Head Coach Troy Cooley and Pathways Manager Graham Manou, and the State and Territory Talent Managers.

This year’s squad is a smaller group – reduced from 53 to 39 – with the decision made not to include the 14 players selected in the Australia Under-16 side as per previous years, due to that squad having its own development program.

The squad features Jayden Goodwin, son of former Zimbabwe and Western Australia batsman Murray. WA captain Jayden has been in red-hot form in the ongoing Under-17 Male National Championships, hammering 76 not out, 64 and 93 not out.

“The CA Pathways Rookie Squad is now entering its fourth season, and gives our emerging male players the opportunity to develop both as cricketers and young men,” CA Pathways Manager Graham Manou said.

“It’s a chance for them to get specialist support at both a state and National level from a skills perspective, and also in areas such as their off-field education. A select group will then take part in a high-performance camp at the Bupa National Cricket Centre in 2019.

“With our Australia Under-16 squad set to play against Pakistan in Dubai in January, we have decided not to include these players in the Pathways Rookie Squad. These players will have their own program and development opportunities ahead of the international series.

“We’re now starting to see players progressing from this program and representing their State sides, which is really pleasing. From last year’s squad, Patrick Rowe, Mackenzie Harvey and Connor Sully have since earned State rookie contracts, with Mackenzie having recently made his debut for Victoria in the JLT One-Day Cup.

“This year’s squad – like those in previous years – contains some really exciting young players, and we hope this program continues to assist their holistic development.”

Following the Under 17 Male National Championships, a group of 24 players from within the squad will be selected to take part in the CA Rookie Camp in January 2019.

The camp, held at the Bupa National Cricket Centre in Brisbane, is designed to give those selected a taste of what life as an elite cricketer entails.

*Note - The Australia Under 16 squad was announced earlier in 2018, following the SSA 15 & Under Boys Championship

2018 CA Pathways Rookie Squad

New South Wales: Zeeshan Ahmed (Bankstown), Sebastian Buchanan (Sydney), Toby Gray (Belmont), Mac Jenkins (Randwick Petersham), Dhruv Kant (Blacktown), Brock Larance (Dubbo CYMS), Dominic O’Shannessy (East Bowral Blues), Tanveer Sangha (Campbelltown Camden), Yuvraj Sharma (Fairfield-Liverpool), Hugh Sheriff (Sydney), Brad Simpson (Bankstown)

Victoria: Jake Fraser-McGurk (Monash Tigers), Campbell Griffiths (Merbein South), Harrish Kannan (Ringwood), Yash Pednekar (Monash Tigers), Miles Sellenger (St Kilda), Zac Sleeman (Monash Tigers), Dylan Tibballs (Ringwood)

South Australia: Isaac Higgins (Glenelg), Harry Mathias (Sturt), Cooper McKenzie (Prospect), Joshua Sims (Kensington)

Queensland: Hugo Burdon (Gold Coast), Jet Liebke (Sandgate-Redcliffe), Dylan Kritzinger (Redlands), Mitch Pascoe (Sandgate-Redcliffe), Will Prestwidge (Northern Suburbs), Will Sanders (University), Jackson Sinfield (Redlands), Harry Weir (Met East Toowoomba)

Western Australia: Brodee Foster (Gosnells), Jayden Goodwin (Colts), Michael Herbst (Wanneroo), Ewan Neilson (Melville), Jacob Wagenknecht (Gosnells)

Tasmania: Will Collins (North Hobart), Nick Davis (North Hobart), Mitchell Owen (Kingborough), Sam Wright (New Town)

Australia U16 Squad

Connor Cook (NSW, Port Pirates), Keegan de Koker (WA, Fremantle), Felix Ford (ACT, Canberra Grammar), Campbell Kellaway (VIC, Melbourne), Dylan McAteer (QLD, Ipswich Brothers), Noah McFadyen (QLD, Northern Suburbs), Jamieson Murphy (SA, Woodville), Nivethan Radhakrishanan (NSW, Bankstown), Sam Rahaley (SA, Kensington), Shobit Singh (VIC, Casey-South Melbourne), Ryley Smith (NSW, Penrith), Tobias Snell (QLD, Northern Suburbs), Aubrey Stockdale (QLD, Toombul), Devlin Webb (VIC, Frankston Peninsula)

*Note: brackets denotes current state/club