A pair of Illawarra juniors have been rewarded for their performances at last week's NSW PSSA Cricket Championships.
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Lindsay Park's Blake Cattle and Shell Cove's Baxter McDonald were picked in the NSW team to contest the Australian Championships in Adelaide next month.
The pair were standouts in a talented team that lost just one game at last week's tournament in Wollongong and coach Kyle Connor said he expects both boys to impress at the national level.
"Blake and Baxter have very good all-round games and they performed consistently throughout the week," Connor said.
"They batted well and bowled well and put up consistent numbers throughout the week.
"The first day Baxter was strong with the bat, his 70 helped us chase down 190. Blake took wickets all through the week and scored runs.
"Nationals will be another step up for them, another challenge. They've definitely got the game to go well down in Adelaide, so it will be good to keep a close eye on how they go. I expect them to pick up a few wickets and score some runs."
The South Coast side ultimately finished fifth in the NSW Championships based on net run rate. The boys defeated North Coast, Polding and Mackillop Invitational, with their only loss coming to eventual winners CIS.
For Connor, the quality results were a clear indicator of the emerging talent present in the Illawarra region and beyond.
"It's not just the Illawarra and south coast with talent, the region stretches right down to the far south coast and out to Goulburn.
"It was competitive to make the team, the final few trials were tough. There's a fair bit of strength coming through primary schools and going into high school.
"We were pretty good throughout the week, we played the most competitive teams throughout the week, we played good cricket and the boys did a good job. I was very proud of them."
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