With summer just around the corner, the kids took part in trial games run by former South Coast cricketer Randall Starr. 

Starr has been coaching and mentoring the children as part of his program 720 Academy for the past 16 weeks, with fortnightly training sessions helping the boys prepare for the upcoming season. 

“What we’re about is helping the guys on the fringes develop their games,” Starr said. “We’re trying to help the guys who aren’t in representative teams or want to prepare before they do play in those.

“The best players get good help, they’re in the academies. But the guys who miss out miss out on that cricketing education, if we can keep the other boys educated in cricket, it can only help the competition as a whole.”

The older boys had the opportunity to take on a talented Mosman Green Shield side, while the younger kids played an intra-squad match against some of the Academy's Canberra-based players. 

With player development at front of mind, the matches were played in true trial fashion, with all players having an opportunity to show their skills. 

“We made sure everyone got an opportunity. We retired batsmen if they got to 50, some players got to bat twice. With the younger guys the coach there paired batsmen and bowlers so everybody got an opportunity.” 

The winter program was setup with the aim of developing players both on the field and off the field, with the belief that personal development off the field translates to success on the field. 

Starr was impressed by the improvement shown by the boys, with 15 players involved selected for junior representative teams. 

“100 per cent the boys have developed. If we’re able to build trust from coach to player, the player ends up coaching themselves. I believe the coach is there to serve the player. We’re helping them find their own pathway to success.”