BEHIND THE SCENES: When we spent a day at the East Albury Cricket Club

The four-year-old has spotted dad Kris walking back to the rooms, having completed his innings, and has temporarily abandoned his vantage point next to grandfather John to greet him.

But, reading the room perfectly, Levi suddenly checks his stride. Kris has been dismissed for two, caught behind, and East Albury's hopes of chasing down their target of 148 to beat Wodonga have just taken a hit.

The family debrief may have to wait for a few minutes and Levi rejoins John to watch the rebuild.

"I've been involved with the club for up to 25 years and all of my sons have come through East Albury Cricket Club," John said.

"Kris is still playing first grade, curating the ground and last year he won the NSW Country Curator of the Year. It was unbelievable, amazing, unexpected - but he just loves doing it.

"He's got three little boys coming through the ranks now and little Levi here has got all his gear and he's ready to go."

Milosta was the club's junior co-ordinator for the best part of 15 years and was at the club six days a week, his involvement ranging from under-10s just starting out, to helping the under-16s integrate into the senior squad.

"It was a big commitment but it was fun," he said.

"If you're out here, you're not out watching television or computer games. It's a networking system for the juniors, it creates friendships and job opportunities and the kids, who come from all walks of life, get a lot of respect."

That work has been continued over the last six years by Steven Hogan, who explains how much of an emphasis the club has placed on grassroots cricket.

"We decided to focus on our junior program and started to see results," he said.

"Our 'introduction to cricket' program has grown from 10 kids to 70 or 80 and we've now got four teams at the under-12 level.

"We were able to go to the Canberra Test against Sri Lanka a couple of years ago and the kids still talk about that now.

"We had four under-16 kids in our second-grade premiership squad last year and in the first-grade side now, we've got Miles Hemann-Petersen, Max Diffey and Coby Fitzsimmons who came through our junior program.

"That's what makes the club sustainable. To see those boys excel is incredibly rewarding.

"Cricket's one aspect of what we're dealing with but from one kid to another, they might have all sorts of things going on in their lives. We make it a fun, enjoyable place for them to come and it's amazing to see them engaged.

"We encourage our coaches to let the kids know that while cricket is one thing, it might be just a word of encouragement or taking an interest in what they're doing outside of cricket that can really make a difference to that young person."

We are watching round three of Cricket Albury-Wodonga's provincial competition and that itself is worth celebrating, given how many obstacles COVID-19 has thrown in the path of community sport this year.

"As a club, we just want to be out there playing," Crows president Andrew Wilkes said.

"There's sporting success behind it but getting out on the park, playing and being with your mates is what everybody's been craving over the last two years.

"Each year you put a side out on the ground, you want to win a first-grade premiership so we're quietly hopeful of that this year but we'll wait and see.

"The big thing for us this season is just to be able to get out and participate. I must give props to (CAW chairman) Michael Erdeljac because although we've jumped through hoops at club level, it's a whole different kettle of fish for Michael and David Nichols and they've done a great job getting us to this point."

Wilkes has been part of the club since the 1990s, having left the Brocklesby league to test himself at a higher level, and has thrown himself into the presidency since taking over from David Christy five years ago.

"Winning a first-grade premiership was a big highlight for me but it's more the involvement and the mateship you get out of it," Wilkes said.

"It's a place where you come and speak to people you've known for 30 years. It's an environment you're comfortable to play really good sport in but as the president of the club, you're also privy to what the club means to a lot of people.

"We've had some very questionable results over the last couple of years and I've had people contact me (about that) from all over Australia.

"What that does is remind you the club's more than just the blokes who are involved on a Saturday.

"A couple of families who started the club, the Allens and the Shepherds, they've been heavily involved since the start and I'm just trying to carry on their work."

And those links remain strong in 2021, as life member Jacqui Allen attests.

"My husband is David Allen, the son of Arthur Allen, one of the people who started the club," she said.

"We lived across the road in Cadell Street for many years so it was a natural progression to follow David to cricket and get involved with the club.

"I was secretary of the club back in the early 1980s for a number of years, I scored for first-grade for a number of years and I've been on the committee for quite a while. I just like to help out where I can.

"We've got one of the bigger junior sections due to the parents bringing their kids along and willingly taking on the positions to run the Milo Cricket and the Super Blasters.

"Like all sporting clubs, COVID's made a big dent. Some people got used to having a season off and because of that they've found other things to do, which don't involve weekly training but thankfully, especially for our juniors - because of the backing they know they'll get in terms of their coaching, functions and the family atmosphere - they're all coming back."

On the far side of the Arthur Allen Pavilion, another life member is keeping a close eye on the run-chase.

"I was very much a third-grade cricketer," admitted Wayne Shepherd, who served on the committee for 40 years.

"The club's always prided itself on having good facilities and we've been fortunate to have some very good curators over the years, including young Kris Milosta who's doing a great job now.

"What the council did here a number of years ago was just brilliant. You look at the playing surface, the turf practice nets and the synthetics; the facilities are top-class.

"We've always had good people involved here and that's what keeps you coming back, people who are there for the right reasons and who give their time generously."

Out in the middle, the Crows are collapsing but assistant coach and life member Gary Essex believes a more solid foundation has been laid for future success.

"I'm part of the furniture here now," Essex smiled.

"I made 100 not out in my first game so it was hard to keep that standard going but I was lucky enough to play in three first-grade premierships. The guys I played with in those teams, we catch up, we have reunions and we're all getting better with age, of course.

"Back then we were a pretty successful club and it came naturally to us. Everyone was used to the success, whereas these guys are just learning how to win and be consistent players. That's what I enjoy helping them with.

"For me, it's about loving the game. I know I loved it and the guys I played with loved it.

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"Over the years we've had guys who, while they might have been good cricketers, they were also good footballers or hockey players and cricket wasn't their love. But these guys love the game and it's showing. I can see some success for these guys in the next year or two.

"It's a very even comp but the difference with Lavington, North Albury and Wodonga is that in the crunch moments, the experience seems to step up. Our guys are learning that.

"There are times in the game which are more important than others and it's being able to identify and execute under pressure. It's performing under pressure, ultimately, and the more you get yourselves into a spot where you have a chance to win and eventually you do win, it becomes a habit."

Wilkes admits the Crows have been 'also-rans' in recent years, failing to make it beyond the semi-finals since their 2015 grand final defeat at the hands of Tallangatta.

But they recruited well over the winter and coach Brett Davies, who's also captaining the side, has seen enough promise since joining from Lavington two years ago to be optimistic about their prospects.

"I've loved every minute at East Albury," Davies said. "Off the field, they're an incredibly well-run club and on the field, they've invested heavily in their junior base.

"I'm really enjoying the role of helping these young players develop into seasoned first-class cricketers. That's going to be an investment in time and I've signed up over the next three years to make sure that pathway is really clear and their development's accelerated.

"It's an exciting time. I think we'll be competing in a finals series this year and we'll be there for next three years, that's for sure.

"There's no doubt, individually, we can win the premiership. But it's a matter of getting our young boys some big game experience.

"Once the young blokes get a taste of that finals success, it's going to really drive them to take out the competition.

"Internally, we believe we are one of the more talented teams but it's a matter of executing that on a Saturday afternoon when it really matters. We had some quality reflections after our first two games and we're looking forward to actioning those evaluations and having some success going forward."

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