
Wagga cricketer Jake Scott has been named as the NSW Country captain for the upcoming U19's Male National Championships.
The championships are being held in Albury from November 30 to December 7 and NSW Country will face Queensland, Northern Territory, Australian Capital Territory and Western Australia in four round games before hopefully qualifying for the finals.
Scott will captain the side at the championships and he said it was a huge honour to be given the nod to lead the team.
"Yeah I'm really stoked with that," Scott said.
"I think all the hard work I've put in over the years is starting to pay off.
"Being announced as captain was really huge for me and I'm really keen to hopefully have a good carnival.
"I believe we definitely have the team to win the carnival, so hopefully we have a really strong carnival and we bring home the trophy."
Scott starred at the championships last year scoring two half centuries and he believed that prior experience should be a real benefit heading into the upcoming campaign.
"Yeah definitely," he said.
"I think for some of the boys it may be their first or second nationals, but I think most of us have experience at that level.
"It can definitely be a bit daunting for someone that hasn't had the experience.
"This is my third national tournament as I played the 17's combine at the 19's nationals, then I played 19's last year and I'll do 19's again this year.
"Knowing what to expect and just having experience at the higher stage definitely helps and also with it being in Albury as it's like a home ground advantage.
"I know most of the grounds as I've played at them growing up and we also have Oscar Lyons in the team.
"He'll help me out with whether to bat or bowl on certain wickets and what grounds are going to do because he's a local down there."
MORE SPORTS NEWS:
Scott revealed that it's been a while since he last captained a side, but said that he feels confident in his ability to lead the team well at the championships.
"I've captained a little bit in junior cricket and maybe in a couple of Wagga rep teams and Northern Riverina," he said.
"When I was younger I focused a lot on my batting and my skills and I felt like my captaincy really got in the way of that sometimes.
"Now being a big thinker of the game I feel it helps me being captain because I'm not thinking about batting and bowling too much myself.
"I keep my mind on the team a bit more which is really good.
"I think this year obviously being top age, having a bit of experience and knowing a lot of the boys, it's a good decision and I'm really looking forward to it."
Before the championships commence in just over a week's time, Scott will first represent Riverina in the NSW Country Bash that is being held on Thursday in Orange prior to the Country Championships.
Scott qualified to play for Riverina in the couple of Twenty20 games and he said he was excited to represent the region.
"I'm really looking forward to that," he said.
"There's a few boys in there I'm good mates with and as soon as Bally (Trent Ball) flicked me a text I was straight onto him saying I was definitely keen on playing.
"To be asked to play again is a real honour and I'm really looking forward to it.
"It'll definitely be a great day and a couple of T20's will be really good.
"I'm keen to get into Orange and have a good crack."
Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can continue to access our trusted content:
- Download our app from the Apple Store or Google Play
- Bookmark dailyadvertiser.com.au
- Follow us on Twitter
- Follow us on Instagram
- Follow us on Google News
- Make sure you are signed up for our breaking and regular headlines newsletters