A boy against men
FOR much of his cricketing life, Liam Blackford has competed against older, wiser heads.
The task will be no different for the teenage batting prodigy next week when he pits himself against Australia’s elite pathways players.
Jetting to Perth today, Blackford is set to line up for the Cricket Australia XI in the under-19 national championships — at 15.
It will be his second outing in green and gold — having made 257 runs at 42.83 runs for CA in the under-17 carnival in October — as he presses his case for higher honours.
“I’m really looking forward to getting over to Perth,” Blackford said.
“We’ve got a good side and there’s some good, young players in there. It’s always challenging coming up against older and more experienced players in these sorts of carnivals, but I’m looking forward to that challenge.”
Blackford is one of five short-listed nominations for the Junior Sports Star Award, which will be presented at the Barwon Sports Academy awards night on Monday.
The Geelong College student has already represented Victoria on three occasions (under-12s and twice in the under-15s) as well as playing for Australia in two age groups
Geelong Advertiser’s this summer. He will travel across the Nullarbor with a pep in his step after making the final five in a competitive field for the Addy’s award.
“It’s obviously nice to be in that select few,” Blackford said.
“You don’t really play the game for the awards, but it’s nice to be recognised.”
With his parents, Steve and
Kerrie, instrumental in providing a pathway to the top, Blackford also credited his junior club North Geelong for much of his development before crossing to Geelong.
“They were always great to me as a junior,” he said.
“I got the most enjoyment out of cricket out at North. It’s where I started to love the game and create a genuine interest in that. I trained out there a fair bit, and since then I have come into Geelong to try and kick it off.”
Balancing his cricket life at Geelong and Geelong College, Blackford is also part of the Cricket Australia rookie pathways program, where he works under the tutelage of former
Australia Test stars Ryan Harris and Chris Rogers, as well as Cricket Australia pathways manager and ex-state keeper batsman Graham Manou.
Harris will coach the CA XI in Perth, where Blackford will come up against fellow Geelong players Lachie Field, Tom Jackson and Callum Stow, who will represent Vic Country.