Rockets ready to rip in DDBBL opener
CRICKET: The time for talk is over, with the highly-anticipated first round of the Darling Downs Bush Bash League to start tomorrow.
The new Twenty20 competition hopes to revolutionise cricket on the Downs, with six franchises and more than 90 of the region’s best players to make the dream a reality.
Play gets under way at Captain Cook Reserve from 9.30am with the George Banks Umbrellas and Valley Raptors having the honours of competing in the first-ever encounter.
This is followed by the Livewired Lightning vs Aidacare Aztecs and Liebke Lions vs Hip Pocket Rockets at 1pm.
Rockets captain Shaun McCarthy has been a stalwart of Toowoomba cricket, and a regular in representative sides along the journey.
The pace bowler said the new experience of the draft and franchise system gave him and many others an incredible opportunity.
“It’s an exciting time. There’s been a lot of preparation going into it, so we’re all looking forward to finally getting out on the field and seeing how we go,” McCarthy said.
“It’s been an exciting process. It’s something completely different, nobody has really experienced it before.”
He said the draft system had helped to create a number of even rosters, and the chance to play with a number of new faces.
“The excitement lies in the fact you’re playing with guys you normally wouldn’t play with any other time of the year,” he said.
“It’s exciting to be a part of a team with guys you would perhaps not have anything to do with throughout the regular season, so it’s good to be able to mingle with them and get to know them.
“There’s a lot of guys I’ve had the privilege of playing club or rep cricket with.”
The Hip Pocket Rockets were able to incorporate some of the best young talent in the draft into their side, something McCarthy hopes works to their favour.
“We’ve got so many good young fellas in our team who I’m looking forward to seeing, like Harry Weir and Dan Brown,” he said.
“There’s a lot of guys there who should be really good to watch.
“It’s a young team, we’d probably have the youngest team on average. But I think with youth will come a lot of energy, and I think that will hopefully work out in our favour.”