Winter adventures set to continue for Carney
FOR some club cricketers the arrival of January signals the start of their pre-season preparations. For Southport and Birkdale’s Jack Carney, however, the New Year will simply herald a fresh challenge in what has been by far the most exciting winter of his cricketing career.
In November, the 18-year-old wicketkeeperbatsman was playing for England Under 19s in a four-team quadrangular tournament in India. When this edition of the Visiter lands on doormats, he will be halfway through a week-long training camp at Loughborough.
And early January will bring the biggest challenge of all when Carney flies out with his team mates to play in the Under 19 World Cup in South Africa.
It will therefore be no wonder if the Christmas and New Year holiday comes as a particularly useful break for the young cricketer and offers him an opportunity to reflect on his development.
There will be plenty to ponder. Tours of India present a culture shock to seasoned professionals, so it is little surprise that Carney and his colleagues found challenges both inside and outside the boundary during a 25-day tour in which they won four of their seven competitive games.
“It was certainly mentally testing in an obvious sense because I was batting at No7, a little lower down the order than I’m used to,” he said. “But there were some good innings and I certainly learned a lot from it. I also think I kept reasonably well, conceding just four byes in the six games I played.
“It was also pleasant to be a leader on the pitch. I was in charge of controlling the tempo of the side’s effort for the first ten overs and then taking it back for the last 25 overs. And the wickets were better than I expected. They’re slower than English ones and they spin a lot more but as a team we adapted pretty well. For vast majority of the time, the bounce was pretty consistent.”
But anyone who notices nothing but cricket on a cricket tour is missing much that such trips have to offer. That is especially so in India where love for the game borders on religious fervour, even among those whose living conditions are worlds removed from those in the still affluent West.
“The way we were looked after was second to none and that was particularly noticeable because twenty yards away from the hotel there were people living in cardboard shacks,” said Carney. “That whole experience was very humbling for all of us.”
And in January Carney embarks on another trip to a country where the social disparities are very sharp although the main preoccupation of the England squad will be to acquit themselves well at the 16-team World Cup.
“I think we’re in a strong position going into the tournament,” said Carney. “The results in India could have been better but as a team we’re understanding each other’s game very well. Our head coach, Mike Yardy, was happy with the way we performed.
“Once we arrive in Johannesburg we have a week’s training camp followed by warm-up games against Afghanistan and Pakistan. Our first competitive game is against
Scotland at Potchefstroom on January 20 and that’s followed by matches against South Africa and West Indies. The top three teams in each group then go on to the Super Six stage before the semifinals and final at Benone in February.”
And when April comes and Carney is once again playing for S&B in the Liverpool Competition’s ECB Premier League, his team mates might notice some useful changes in his approach as a result of his winter tours.
“I think I’m a lot braver now and I always take the positive option,” he said.
“I’m also smarter about the way I approach situations and I try to help my team mates in whatever way I can.
“I’m much more selfconfident, not in an arrogant way, I hope, but in accepting that international Under 19s cricket is a level at which I can play.
“The eventual dream is to get a professional contract but the future is nothing like set in stone for me.
“At present, I’m just staying in the moment and things will take care for themselves after the World Cup.”