Wimmera rolls into AO
Cricket resumes
Four Wimmera tennis players are among about 400 ballkids at the Australian Open this year. Harry Allan, Charli Pietsch, Adele Joseph and Daniella Gillespie are part of the 15-day grand slam tournament in Melbourne, which began on Sunday.
This week, The Weekly Advertiser invited Harry and Charli to share their experiences.
It is the first time both have been a ballkid, which they were selected for out of about 1000, 12- to 15-year-old applicants.
Charli, 12, said she wanted to be a ballkid because it looked like lots of fun and she wanted to meet new people.
“I’m looking forward to watching the big games on the arena courts,” she said.
“I would most want to be a ballkid at a game Alex de Minaur is playing in, because he is cool.”
During the tennis season, Charli plays for Haven Tennis Club, where she trialled under the watchful eye of Tennis Victoria staff.
Charli travelled to Melbourne once selected for several training sessions.
Harry, 14, said he first saw the ballkid opportunity with a friend and the pair thought it would be fun to trial together.
He said he was looking forward to being up close with the players on the court and seeing the Australian Open from a ballkid’s perspective.
“I would most want to be a ballkid at a game Ajla Tomljanovic is playing in,” he said.
Harry trialled in Mildura and Melbourne before learning of his success.
Harry, of Beulah, travelled to Melbourne Park for five training sessions and put his skills into practice at the Australian Wheelchair Tennis National Championships and December Showdown before lining up at the Australian Open. Ballkids were also involved in qualifying week. Adele and Daniella will feature in next week’s edition of
Horsham Cricket Association’s senior competition returns with a bang this weekend, with a welldeserved break making way for the last four games before finals.
A 50-over clash between Homers and Horsham Tigers headlines the A Grade restart.
Homers are currently top of the ladder, ahead of last year’s favourites West Wimmera and Bullants, with a single loss to Horsham Tigers back in round two.
Despite their earlier win, the Tigers have suffered three more defeats than their weekend opponent, Homers.
Laharum will host West Wimmera in its first game of the new year.
The Demons have endured a difficult season, securing two wins to date, and will be looking to put together a string of good results.
West Wimmera is Homers’ closest competitors for top spot, despite a surprising loss to Horsham Saints immediately before the break.
Bullants are heavy favourites heading into their clash against a plucky Blackheath-dimboola.
The Noradjuha-toolondo team is coming off two straight losses, but will be hoping to field a strong 11 this weekend, as it builds towards another finals campaign.
Blackheath-dimboola, for its part, has pulled out some impressive results after a challenging start to the season, which saw it winless until round five.
The final game of the weekend sees Lubeck-murtoa travel to Coughlin Park to face Horsham Saints.
Lubeck-murtoa is another team that has struggled during the season, but its nine-wicket win in the last round before Christmas should give it some encouragement.
For Horsham Saints, the round nine clash is crucial as it looks to put itself in contention for a finals berth, with the team currently residing fifth in the eightteam competition.