Leggie with the lot

Teen adds depth to Heat’s first XI

THEY’RE desperate to keep him, but Highton concedes it’s just a matter of time before legspin sensation Brady Somers secures higher honours.

The talented all-rounder has turned heads this season, taking wickets in each of the Heat’s first three games.

It has been a seamless transition to first XI cricket for the 15year-old, who is still playing in Highton’s under-17 outfit.

“He’s a good player,” Heat co-coach Hayden Murrell said.

“He made his debut last year and got a bit of a taste of it. He bowls quality leg-spin and he can bat pretty well, too.

“He backs himself and he flights the ball up. He’s not intimidated by senior cricketers at all. He’s attacking, gets a lot of spin. He’s got a very bright future ahead of him.”

Part of the Barwon Rockets’ squad for the past two seasons, Somers is destined for Premier cricket at Geelong, according to Murrell.

“I think he’ll get a crack at Geelong eventually,” Murrell said. “I’m not sure how early that will be, but we wouldn’t stand in his way.

“He’s definitely good enough to progress in his cricket and he’s a terrific kid and a great clubman as well.”

Meeting GCA2 ladder-leaders Murgheboluc in a crucial one-day clash today, Murrell revealed he is likely to turn to wicket-taker Somers while the ball is relatively hard.

“We usually go to him early,” Murrell said.

“We try to get him involved quite early on, especially in the one-dayers, and last week he bowled first change. He’s always a good option to get a wicket for us.”

A reliable right-handed batsman, Somers provides depth in the middle-to-lower order.

“He’s been batting nine for us, but in future years he’ll be batting in the top five, no doubt,” Murrell said.

Losing to Thomson in a rainaffected clash last week, the Heat face the unbeaten Frogs at King Lloyd Reserve.

“They’re a quality side, and coming down from Division 1, it’s going to be a big challenge,” Murrell said.

“It’s a little bit of an unknown because we haven’t played them for a while. They’ve got some quality players and depth is something they’ve got a lot of. We’re looking forward to it.”

Highton will be without star all-rounder Luke Daffy, who will attend a wedding.

“Losing Daff’s massive, he’s definitely our best player, but it’s also a good time for a few other blokes to step up,” Murrell said.

“I’m looking forward to seeing how some of the others go.”

Daffy will be replaced by Jack Jones, who comes up from the seconds.

“He’ll bat at seven. He had a really good season in the twos last year,” Murrell said.

Sitting inside the top-four, Murrell said he had been pleased with his side’s start to the season, having dealt with the key departures of captain Jacob Smith and Brad Scown.

“We’re pretty happy,” Murrell said. “We started well, 2-0, and last week we felt we played OK but Thomson just outplayed us. The rain didn’t help, but that’s not an excuse.” KD: The club keeps me going. I’ve got a lot of good friends and there’s so many good people down there. I don’t know what I’d be doing if I didn’t have my cricket.

Picture: MIKE DUGDALE FULL FLIGHT: Highton’s Brady Somers is one of the region’s best emerging spinners. AO: Great to chat, Dawbs. Now, you’ve had a long association with Grovedale, several decades I’d suggest. How long have you been at Burdoo Reserve? KD: I started in 1975 at Grovey. I played 330 games. I’m second on the club’s games record list but I’ll get overtaken soon. Graeme Harper only needs two games to equal me and Garry Kelson will pass me in the next few rounds. I’m sitting 10th on the runs with 5235. AO: You’ve certainly played a lot of cricket. Which grade did you predominantly play? KD: I played all the grades ... thirds, fourths, fifths and sixths. I played the Hedley and Soloman (Shields). I played 37 games there, 69 in the seconds, 28 in the thirds, 62 in the fourths, 49 in the fifths and 85 in the sixths. So pretty spread out. AO: How long ago did you finish up playing? KD: I played until I was 61 and I’m 73 now, so 12 years ago. AO: Did the body pack up? KD: Oh yeah. I couldn’t see, couldn’t throw, couldn’t run. I was done. I think I made a duck in my last hit and I thought “that’s it”. I was pretty happy to last that long. My dad played until he was 50 and I remember thinking “s---, that’s bloody old”. I think I’m the oldest at the club. No one has played until they were 61 while I’ve been there, anyway. AO: And once your playing days came to an end, you poured all your energies into becoming a great clubman. KD: I was on the committee two years after I started. I’ve been a junior coach and I was part of the Barwon Zone. I did 10 years with the juniors. I’ve been the club’s statistician since ‘82, I started the sponsorship in ‘78 and I’m still doing that. I’m running the past players and I do all the raffles. I sat on the committee from ‘76-91 and then I started doing shift work. So I stopped being on the committee, but I kept doing all the other stuff. AO: You’re the club’s statistician, you manage sponsorship, organise past players and social functions and run the development and futures programs for the juniors. You were made a life-member in 1984 and Graeme Harper said you’re deserving of best clubman every single year. How do you feel about that? KD: It’s nice to hear. I’ve won best clubman four times. I don’t know ... I just enjoy my time up here. I spent 10 years working with the juniors and I was involved with Country Week. I’ve had a good run, so I’m pretty happy.

AO: I understand you put together a stats book that would be the envy of every club? KD: Yeah, I enjoy doing that. I don’t know what the other clubs do, but I’m pretty proud of what I do for Grovedale. And I’ve been doing that for a long time, too. AO: Have you got plenty left in the tank?