FORMER Rutherglen cricketer Josh Mangan is determined to fight his way back into the Western Australian team after losing his contract with WA.
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The leg-spinning allrounder, who is also recovering from surgery to his shoulder and wrist, said he was aiming to force his way back into the WA team through solid performances at club level.
The 24-year-old said he was determined to forge a solid first-class career.
“All you ever want to do as a cricketer is to know how good you can be, (and) when you get a taste at the next level it really makes you hungry,” he said on a trip back to Rutherglen.
“You want to get back in there and prove to yourself and anyone else that you can make it.
“I never really planned on having a dream run, things like this (being cut) can happen.
“There’s always things that get in your way — there was when I was back in Rutherglen when I was 12, there was in Melbourne when I was 16, and it’ll probably keep happening — that’s sport.
“I’ve managed to overcome things in the past, so there’s no reason I can’t do it again.
“I’ll be concentrating on playing club cricket and hopefully I can force my way back into the team — you don’t need to be in the (state) squad to play, so hopefully my form at club level can warrant breaking into the team at some stage.”
Mangan, who is completing his masters of architecture in Perth, said he wasn’t angry at the WA selectors’ decision to axe him from the squad.
“It was hard for them, because the second half of my season was interrupted with injury, so it’s hard to have the numbers on the board for them to justify keeping me when I couldn’t bowl,” he said.
“I had surgery in mid-February (on my) rotator cuff, I also had some bone shaved out of my shoulder, (and some) floating bone removed from my wrist.
“But hopefully I can get back to full fitness by the start of the year.”
Mangan has played four Sheffield Shield games for a return of three wickets and 115 runs.