Australia's finest cricketers may have gained the upper hand in the battle for Ashes glory, but a pair of Wollongong youngsters have achieved a run of success of their own over the arch enemy in recent weeks.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Northern Districts junior Aidan Cook and Dapto youngster Jayden Zahra-Smith have recently returned from a successful NSW Combined High School tour of England, the side winning eight of their 11 matches.
For Cook, the tour was an opportunity to test their talent against some of England's best in foreign conditions.
"The tour was a lot of fun," Cook said. "Playing in English conditions, all the grounds, the facilities, even the staff at the games, it was a whole new level of competition to Australia.
"The team was fun, the coaches and managers were great, the whole environment was good, even the rest days, the whole thing was a great experience.
"Our goal was to win the majority of our matches and that's what we did. We had a few tight games, we lost our first two, but we learnt a lot from those games. When it came to crunch time, we knew what we needed to do to end up with the win and we weren't falling like the first games. To go eight from 11 was really great."
Cook and Zahra-Smith both played a key role in the team's success, with Zahra-Smith scoring 79 in the team's win over Glamorgan, while Cook's best game came on his birthday.
Batting higher up the order, the wicket keeper-batsman had the opportunity to show off his skills and that is what he did.
Cook scored an unbeaten 60 to lead the team to victory, the 17-year-old belting the ball for six to bring up the winning runs.
"It was pretty good batting up the order against Lincolnshire on my birthday. I went out there with intensity, we needed quick runs and I got into a few little partnerships with a few of the guys.
"I did run out one of my partners, so I thought I owed it to the team to finish it off. Hitting a six to win it was pretty good, but it was a full toss, so I had to put it away."
While you're with us the Illawarra Mercury is offering sport readers 20% off an annual digital subscription. Sign up to stay up to date with all the local sports you love for only $3.00 a week. Terms and conditions apply.