Mitchell Wagstaff to play for Corowa after signing first professional deal at Derbyshire

Wagstaff is a rising star at Derbyshire, where his form in the academy has earned him a senior deal.

The 19-year-old won the county's Academy Performance of the Year award after hitting a stunning 198 against Durham earlier this year.

"Mitch is an aggressive, flamboyant opening bat and he bowls some leggies so he fits the balance of our side really well," Corowa coach Jack Thomas said.

"Jarryd (Hatton) worked really hard with his contacts in England to get him across so we're super stoked to have him.

"We've been watching a lot of his footage and he's just a bit different with the bat.

"He's not that standard-looking technical batsman, he hits the ball in different areas.

"Your standard cut shot usually goes to backward point but he's got the ability to hit it in front or behind, to manipulate the field.

"We're really excited to see how he goes, now we just want some warm weather and some nice hard pitches."

Corowa will have two Englishmen in their side this season, with Arthur Godsal returning to the club where he played a run of games at the end of 2021/22.

The under-19 international, from London, is playing for England at the European Cricket Championship but should only miss Corowa's first couple of games before staying for the rest of the season.

"We're really stoked for these two, hopefully they can get some decent prep in and hit the ground running," Thomas said

"They'll add plenty of value and strength to our side."

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Kaelan Bradtke will be in Melbourne this weekend for the AFL Draft Combine, so will miss the round one clash with premiers North Albury, but Thomas can see huge potential if the talented youngster plays a significant part in the cricket season.

"We don't know what's going to happen with 'KB' yet but he's really surprised me with the bat in pre-season," Thomas said.

"He's tall, he's got long levers and he's really hard to bowl to because he can get on top of the bounce or even get under it.

"He's got shots all around the ground, he likes to sweep, likes to reverse-sweep.

"In terms of his bowling, I think he had a niggle with his back last year so he wasn't 100 percent but he's hitting the deck hard so I'm really excited to see if he's around and see how he goes."

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