With tons of talent, Joel’s one to watch
HAVE you heard of Gold Coast cricketer Joel Harrison?
If not, it may be worth committing the name to memory.
The Runaway Bay junior cricketer scored 120 in his Queensland Premier Cricket debut for Wynnum Manly District Cricket Club two weeks ago only to better himself with 155 the week after.
With his knock of 120, the 19-year-old became only the second player in history to score a century during his first grade debut.
But the scary thing is, if not for misfortune, he could have finished with an even higher score.
“It was a very unfortunate run out,” Harrison said.
“I was at the non-striker’s end and our captain Jason Floros hit the ball back and I was backing up but the bowler got a finger on it and it hit the stumps.
“I was a bit annoyed to get out that way, mainly because we were in a position to win but ended up drawing.
“I’m still in a bit of disbelief about it because it just happened and it was just my day.
“We needed 420 to win, which was always going to be tough, but I was seeing the ball well and we got to lunch and everything was just clicking.”
Unbeaten by the bowler in his debut, Harrison said he felt more at ease the second time he took to the crease.
“I took a lot of confidence from my debut because heading into that I was nervous and didn’t know if I was up to the level but I felt like I could play at that level,” he said.
After playing his junior cricket with the Seagulls and making his senior cricket debut at age 14, Harrison de
cided to follow in the footsteps of fellow Runaway Bay alumni and make the twiceweekly commute to Wynnum Manly instead of joining the Gold Coast Dolphins.
“It’s hard as a young kid to progress further in Gold Coast leagues so I wanted to have a crack at a higher competition to hopefully get noticed,” the Arundel local said.
“The commute doesn’t affect me, I’ve got a few mates I go up there with so it’s not the worst. I knew people up at Wynnum who were a few years older than me so it was much easier for me to head up
there than play for a completely new club (Dolphins) where I knew no one.”
Harrison hopes to one day play cricket at a higher level and if his recent form is anything to go by, he could be in Queensland colours sooner rather than later.
“It’s everyone’s dream to go higher and play for the Bulls and even Australia so hopefully if I can keep scoring runs, I’ll have a chance of that,” he said.
“I’ve always been decent at cricket but I just want to keep doing the right things and becoming a better player.”