Twin representation for Albany at country week

Albany Junior Cricket Association will send two strong teams to compete at the annual Junior Country Week tournament, which begins in Perth on Monday.

Last year, the AJCA sent three teams, two under-16s and an under-14s, but that has been reduced this year because of low numbers and player availability.

Gary McNamara will coach the under-16 team, which will compete in the A-section of the tournament and features a number of players with local A-grade experience.

Seb Stanton, Oliver Pluckhahn, Noah Middleton, Jack Stephens and Harry Brown have all played A-grade cricket already and loom as key parts of the first XI’s winning hopes.

Albany will be out to claim a sixth A-section crown in the long-running history of the carnival, with their most recent success coming in 2017.

Last year, the first XI finished second behind Bunbury with four wins and they will be hoping to go one better when they begin their campaign against Pingelly on Monday at Breckler Park.

The top three run scorers for Albany last season, Harry Crane, Aubin Spurr and Sam Want, have all moved on, leaving big roles for the likes of Stanton, Dustin Boyce, Charlie Walters, Pluckhahn and Brown to play.

Albany face Geraldton on Tuesday and Eastern Goldfields in two T20s on Wednesday before their final two matches against Busselton Margaret-River and Bunbury on Thursday and Friday.

Albany’s second team, an under-14s side, will be in the under-14 A-section and face Peel and then Geraldton in their first two games.

Dominant batsman Noah Blight, along with Billy O’Meara and Ryley Valli, will head a side that has lost a couple of players to injury.

Last year, Albany won the under-14 A-section title, going through the week undefeated.

ACJA teams

Under-16s: Dustin Boyce, Harry Brown, Jarrad Fuller, Lorcan McNamara, Noah Middleton, Aden Montague, Rory Murray, Oliver Pluckhahn, Seb Stanton, Jack Stephens, Angus Thompson, Charlie Walters.

Under-14s: Sebastian Ballard, Noah Blight, Toby Brown, Mohit Jaggi, Oliver Miller, Billy O’Meara, Bailey Peacock, Jack Robertson, Sam Ross, Jed Schwarzbach, Lachlan Tindale, Ryley Valli.