Western Australia have announced a 14-player squad for the upcoming Cricket Australia Under 17 National Male Cricket Championships to be held between 16-23 January in Hobart.
Young Guns ready to take centre stage
The squad will be led by Subiaco-Floreat’s Will Malajczuk who has been selected as captain after a wonderful start to the summer in WA Premier Cricket.
A right-arm offspinner and talented middle-order batter, Malajczuk has been a regular wicket-taker in Subiaco-Floreat’s First Grade side, notching 11 wickets in eight matches at an impressive average of 14.90. He has also contributed 133 runs at 44.33 in his three innings.
Malajczuk played a crucial role in WA’s first U19 Male National Championships title since 2016-17, contributing 164 runs at 27.33 and six wickets at 14.66 across the six matches.
Talented Scarborough allrounder Zed Hollick has also been named in the 14-player squad for the Championships, having also played every match as part of the U19 triumph.
Ten WA Premier Cricket Clubs have been represented in the squad, with Claremont-Nedlands, Perth, Scarborough, and Willetton all having multiple players selected.
WA will be coached by WA Cricket Pathways Coach of Male Programs Tim Edmunds, and assistant coaches Matthew Hanna and Liam O’Connor.
WA will compete in four 50-over fixtures over the week-long tournament, beginning with a clash against Northern Territory at NTCA Oval on Thursday 16 January.
Every match of the Under 17s National Male Championships will be streamed live on the Cricket Australia YouTube channel, while scorecards can be accessed through Play Cricket.
Click here to view all fixtures for the U17s Male National Championships
Cricket Australia YouTube Channel can be accessed here
Reflecting on the squad, WA Cricket Pathways Coach – Male Programs Tim Edmunds said:
“We believe this is a talented and balanced squad that I’m looking forward to seeing compete and be challenged over the six matches in Hobart. The National Championships are always a great opportunity for our players to showcase their skills and continue to gain experience playing against some exciting cricketers from all around Australia.
“We are thrilled to offer Will the chance to captain, he has been in brilliant form in Premier Cricket for Subiaco-Floreat and was a major part of our U19 Championship success, and we are excited for him to get an opportunity to enhance his leadership credentials.
“While we have talent spread right through our 14-player squad, I am incredibly excited about the spin options we have at our disposal this year. Having Will and Zed available from the U19s group is invaluable, while Micah Akkinapalli is player of enormous upside that played in the U17 Championships last summer.
“We have done a power of work with these group of boys over the last couple of years and we think we have a squad of players who not only are incredibly gifted, but the play the game in the right way. We cannot wait to see what the boys can do on the national stage.”
WA’s 14-player squad:
Will Malajczuk – Captain (Subiaco-Floreat Cricket Club)
Angus Abbonizio(Scarborough Cricket Club)
Micah Akkinapalli(Willetton Cricket Club)
Riley Clayton(Perth Cricket Club)
Evan Clements(Perth Cricket Club/Wheatbelt)
Liam Deckert(Wanneroo Districts Cricket Club)
Isaac Diamanti (Rockingham-Mandurah Cricket Club)
Zed Hollick(Scarborough Cricket Club)
Matthew Lough(Claremont-Nedlands Cricket Club)
Stewart Lough(Claremont-Nedlands Cricket Club)
Vishver Morendage(Midland-Guildford Cricket Club)
Josh Nathan(Willetton Cricket Club)
Dylan Ratter(Fremantle Districts Cricket Club)
Noyan Rostame(Gosnells Cricket Club)