The Border will host future Australian cricket representatives this week.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
or signup to continue reading
The under 19 Male National Championships will have 10 teams, representing every state and territory.
"There's 250 cricketers, coaches and staff here for the carnival and that's not counting families, so there's potentially around that same number again," Cricket Albury-Wodonga chairperson Michael Erdeljac said.
The titles are a Who's Who of Australian cricket, with Ricky Ponting starring for Tasmania in 1992, while World Cup winners last week Mitch Marsh and Josh Hazlewood played in the 2010 Under 19 World Cup win after contesting this corresponding domestic carnival.
Cricket Albury-Wodonga will be represented by Kane Scott, who plays for Wodonga Raiders and has played a handful of first grade games at Prahran in Victorian Premier Cricket.
Scott, who only just finished his VCE, will represent Victoria Country.
"My form has been a little bit scratchy, but hopefully due for some runs," he offered.
"I've been working on my keeping as well, knowing that's probably going to take me further than my batting."
Meanwhile, Lavington opener Oscar Lyons will play for NSW Country.
Lyons opted to bypass Riverina's open-age commitments in the NSW Country Championships in Orange over the weekend, which worked out well as they were washed out with Central Coast moving through to the final against Newcastle as the highest ranked team from last year.
"This is the first opportunity to play at this level, so it's pretty special," he suggested.
Lyons has also just finished his schooling, but is rated so highly by Lavington, he's a vice-captain at 18 and puts a tremendous amount of time into the game.
"I learnt over winter to value my wicket a bit more," he revealed.
"I got in the habit last year of facing 30 balls, getting tied down and throwing my wicket away, so I've worked out ways to get around that, get off strike and keep the runs ticking over."
Lyons has made 300 runs in CAW provincial at 43, with three half-centuries.
NSW Country starts its campaign against Queensland at Alexandra Park on Thursday, while Vic Country meets NSW Metro at Lavington Sportsground.
Rest days will be held on December 2 and 5, with the tournament running until December 7.
