MICHAEL Spaseski is a name that will be echoing around local circles for a while and it’s a good thing for cricketers.
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The Canberra Comets star put on a thrilling display of batting to lead the Southern Sixers to victory in Friday’s Bendigo Bank Big Bash at George Griffin Oval and it goes to show the opportunities for our local cricketers.
Spaseski was asked to feature in the explosive Twenty20 match after his selection to the Prime Minister’s XI to take on England today at Manuka Oval in Canberra.
The highlight of Spaseski’s stint at the crease in Bega included four sixes from just one over.
The high flying balls were out of reach of the Northern Thunder’s fielders, clearing the fence, and almost the car park, with Spaseski’s furthest flying shot bounding merrily northward along the Princes Hwy.
Spaseski was run out for 66, which is not unheard of in Twenty20 cricket, but when you consider this one player scoring half the team’s runs, and quickly, it’s a solid effort.
His performance was enough to earn him man of the match.
There’s no wonder why he is on the up-and-up in cricket, playing plenty of flashy shots you would expect to see on TV, not at your local ground.
The overall consensus around the ground after the game was that Spaseski is a very powerful batsmen.
“I don’t think he fully got a hold of one, you could tell by the sound from his bat,” said one spectator.
Which raises the question, how far could he have belted it if he really had landed his best shot?
Prime Minister’s XI coach Mark Higgs said the game was part of a move to get Spaseski “warmed up to take on the Poms”.
“The Comets program is off over the holidays, so it’s a move to get him ready,” Higgs said.
It’s exciting to see players with potential being given national opportunities like this, and it’s something to look forward to more often with the Far South Coast joining Cricket ACT.
More and more local players are being recognised and developed through pathways with the Comets and the ACT in general.
If our local cricketers continue through training clinics and representative squads, we could be seeing our young up-and-comers taking on greater challenges.
Who knows?
Maybe in a few years we could see the likes of Dylan Jordan, Corey Spink, Mac Wright or Jack Allen taking on the big stage.
Wright is already impressing selectors in the Canberra representative squad, what’s to stop him being named in a future Prime Minister’s XI?
Not a lot if you ask me.
