Fire-relief T20 to act as Country Week training hitout
WITH no scheduled training ahead of a stacked Melbourne Country Week campaign, GCA coach Brad Stacey is imploring his team to use the firerelief T20 clash as a competitive hitout.
Almost all of the 15-man Country Week squad will line up together in the match against an All-Star side at Geelong City on February 2.
Batsman Richie Oliver will play for the All-Stars while Ryan Gibson is in Sydney, with the remaining 13 players to rotate through the T20 match.
The day itself will act as a fundraiser for a good cause, but once the action gets under way
Stacey said he expected his team to focus.
“We want them to have a proper hitout,” he said. “There will be some banter, but the cricket will be serious.
“I think the competitive nature will take over. It’s not the be all and end all, but it is a chance for the guys to have a hit. We don’t do that training anymore. I just rally the troops and we’ll have a meeting a couple of weeks out.
“It’s definitely a chance to showcase their skills and there should be a decent crowd out there as well, which will be good.”
The defending Country Week champions face Ballarat, Bayswater and Sale-Maffra in its regular matches, starting from February 17.
Geelong will again send a powerful squad, with batsmen Oliver (268 runs), Andy Hughes (217), Andrew Hodgson (209) and Pat Richards (204) hoping to emulate their outstanding campaigns last year.
When the idea for the charity match began to take shape, Stacey had no hesitation in putting his hand up to shape the All-Star squad.
Alongside Oliver, the squad was quickly filled with local stars like Jordan Moran, Daanish Mehta and Corey Ogle plus local champions such as Barry Tsitas, Andrew Fergusson and Glen Talarico.
“We just filled in the blanks,” Stacey said.
“It wasn’t that hard. As soon as you asked, all the guys just said ‘No worries’.”