Trent Ball and Grant Ball look ahead to Border Bullets playing finals day at North Sydney Oval

ST: How special is it to be going back to Sydney?

TB: It's pretty awesome. After the first year winning it, we probably took it for granted and lived off that for a couple of years. I got back involved last year and promised (Cricket Albury-Wodonga chairman) Michael Erdeljac we'd get back, so luckily the boys have delivered on that promise! I'm pumped. Only Liam Scammell has been before and this time it's at North Sydney Oval, so no-one's been there. Everyone's really excited and available.

ST: Why does rep cricket mean so much to you?

TB: Especially now, not being able to play, I just like watching good cricket. I have to live through these guys now because this is the stuff I'd still love to be playing in. That's why I love it so much, because I get to be involved. It's the same with Riverina, watching the boys do well against good cricketers. That's what it's all about for me.

ST: Are these the times you miss playing the most?

TB: Absolutely. That's why I still want to be involved and help guys get better and get involved in rep cricket. To have the opportunity to play at North Sydney Oval is fantastic, so, yes, I miss it a lot.

ST: Grant, tell us a bit about your role?

GB: I've been 20 years as rep cricket manager for the old ABCA originally and then CAW when it merged. The last five years, I've been Riverina manager as well. That gets you more exposure, to the other players from around the region, which I've always wanted to do. I played at a lower level and at school, so you want to give something back to the game and that's a way I've been able to do it.

ST: How much do you enjoy being around the boys?

GB: It's good fun. It's what my father always told me, because he used to do the same thing - coach the schools and junior cricket - it keeps you young when you're getting older. That's what he used to say and now I understand what that means.

ST: Trent, what's it like sharing the journey with your Dad?

TB: It's pretty good, especially the bus trips. We've been to the SCG, MCG, Manuka, Cootamundra, all these places and whenever we talk about stories, it's always about the bus trips and the characters, which you normally have in the representative teams, some of the biggest personalities.

ST: Can you think of a story that's suitable for print?

TB: Tim Kennedy is like Dad's second son, that's his favourite, just for the value he brought on all the trips. We had a bit of a crew with Tonkin, Heath Naughton, Tim Kennedy, Rhys Jones and myself. One day, we were going to Cootamundra and we had to meet at 8am at the Newmarket. We were driving along Borella Road and I saw someone running in a pair of jeans, with their shirt off, and this person was Tim Kennedy. He lived in Alexandra Street, round the corner, and he was running home from a night out. He came back with a bag containing some stuff, got on the bus still in a mess, came out, took two or three wickets, took the best catch I think we've seen and then got back on the drink on the way home. That's how it was.

ST: You missed last weekend's trip to Griffith, why was that?

TB: I needed an operation on my throat. It's been coming but then I got told on Tuesday of last week 'we need you here on Thursday.' It was to help with my breathing because my throat was pretty much closing over. It was down to 9mm, so I was struggling to keep my breath, even just talking. I had that last Thursday and it knocked me around. It all went well but I couldn't make it to Griffith unfortunately. I was online, the ball-by-ball, every ball, refreshing, especially the second game. In the last over, it was every eight seconds. It was a stressful six hours of cricket. Not being there was more stressful than the surgery on Thursday because I like to have everything ready to go for the boys. Thankfully they've done good by me and got us through.

ST: What's it been like to see Trent go on this journey, health-wise?

GB: It was pretty hard when all that surgery had to go on and he had to stop playing. At that time, he was one of the best batsmen in the competition, reaching his peak in his early thirties, so that was a shame to see him have to stop. We thought 'this won't take long, a year or so out and he'll be back' but it didn't work out that way. Even though the surgery was successful, it was the aftermath and the recovery, which was hard to take. We had to change our tack a bit and spend more time on the sidelines, coaching and managing. For a parent watching your son play, that's nervous, especially when they go out to bat...

TB: The way I batted, you'd have been very nervous.

GB: But not to be able to play at all... They say cricket's a cruel game, you can go out and spend one minute on the ground and the rest of the time sitting on the side watching but you come back again the next week because you love the game. That's why you play it and that's what everybody will say. Some people couldn't bear standing in the sun all day but that's why you do it, because you love the game of cricket. It's great to be able to go together now and see these young blokes hopefully do well. But win, lose or draw, it doesn't matter, we're there and that's the great thing. We've made the finals again and it's been a great experience for them and for us.

TB: That's what's good about the representative game. Winning is a part of it but it's not all of it. If we really wanted to win this competition, we could bring in other players, a marquee player, a State of Origin player like Ross Pawson would be available but it's more about these guys from our local competition who get to go and experience North Sydney Oval. Sometimes it's not all about winning in representative cricket. It's a part of it, because you need to win to get there. You've got Max Heriot, who's 16, getting to play there. I've been lucky enough to go to the SCG a couple of times so I know how awesome it is and how you never forget it. I think about it most days. It's about the experience you get with representative cricket.

GB: That team gelled really well last weekend, players from different clubs coming together. We call it the Border Bullets Club, we try to put that emphasis on it, not just a collection of blokes from different clubs. We make sure they don't wear their own club uniform, they've got to wear the Bullets gear. They were really good, there were no problems at all.

ST: When you look down the list of players you're taking to Sydney, is it a side that can beat Newcastle?

TB: Yes, it is. They've been our nemesis for the last few years; with Riverina and everything, you either have to beat ACT or Newcastle. The way the guys played last Sunday against ACT showed they can beat anyone. It's a massive game, Newcastle first up, but there's a few of our guys who are really looking forward to that.

BORDER BULLETS SQUAD: Matt Condon, Brendan Simmons, Ben Fulford, Callum Langlands (North Albury), Liam Scammell (captain), Tendai Chisoro, Max Heriot (St Patrick's), Dave Tassell, Ryan Brown, Chris Galvin (Lavington), John Oswell, Sam Stephens (Tallangatta), Jarryd Hatton, Luke Backhouse (Corowa).

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