A leading NSW talent scout says players without game awareness are limiting their chances of playing at the elite level.
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Cricket NSW coach and pathways manager Greg McLay has given a fascinating insight into modern day thinking during the Country Colts (under 18) and Bradman Cup (under 16) carnivals, which finish in Albury today.
"There's three pillars on which we select teams. They've obviously got to be skilled and not just competent in one skill set," he explained.
"They've got to be athletic as well, you can't make high-level representative teams if you don't look after yourself so there's an expectation that they're really good in the field.
"And they've got to be smart, they've got to have good game awareness and understand the game, take time to try and develop a deep understanding of the game."
McLay's summation is 'must read' for all youngsters aspiring to play at the highest level.
"The shift in the range of formats (given the success of T20 in the past decade) has had a fair bit to do with that (the new approach)," he offered.
'You need a kid to be able to assess the situation of a game at any time and the best players that I've ever played with, they were the best at doing that.
"Even if they were waiting to bat and they weren't even in next, they just understood where the game sat, they understood how we need to approach the next five or 10 overs, how we can swing the match in our favour or keep dominating, or whatever is needed.
"For example, from a batting perspective, a player throws their wicket away when what their role was was that they needed to ice the game by being there at the end.
"That really does influence selectors because that affects the team and we want a team-focus at all times."
The Wagga-based McLay played six first-class matches for NSW in 1990-91, including the Sheffield Shield final.
He admits all players at that level had tremendous game awareness, adding fellow Wagga product Geoff Lawson joined Steve and Mark Waugh as the standouts.
"We want everyone (at junior level) to be a leader, we want 11 captains that are able to contribute through the official captain," McLay said.
ALSO IN SPORT:
The Country Colts and Bradman Cup have eight zones, who traditionally play in the one area, but because of COVID-19, the State has been divided in two with the Border hosting the southern pool.
A team will be selected to contest the upcoming State Challenge in Dubbo, while players are also vying for the ACT-NSW Country under 19 outfit at the national championships in April.
