JAKE Reed is going back to the Premier Cricket well at least one more time.
The 31-year-old former Victorian fast bowler has suffered more injuries than many people have had hot dinners since making the move to the city.
The speedster is set to return to Footscray, where he last played over 18 months ago, to give high-level state cricket “at least one more crack”.
Reed made his debut for Victoria’s Sheffield Shield team in 2014 and played seven first-class games, as well as 10 Twenty20 matches for the Hobart Hurricanes in the Big Bash League.
After being contracted to Geelong Cricket Club in Victorian Premier Cricket for most of his tenure, Reed made the switch to Footscray for the 2019-20 season, however a torn ACL in his left knee meant he missed all last season, and subsequently was not recontracted for Victoria.
Returning home afterwards, the former Hurricane decided to pull on the footy boots for Red Cliffs in the Sunraysia Football and Netball League this year and made it through the shortened season unscathed.
“After I had done the knee I basically gave up on it and sport was the furthest thing from my mind,” he said. “Then I made the decision to pull on the boots again and I’m glad I did because I’ve loved every minute.
“I’ve gotten to play alongside my best mates in Beau Riordan and Jack Parker, and the rest of the boys. The knee and the shoulder especially that I’ve had the reconstructions on have held up really well so I thought if they can stand up to the rigors of footy then I can try and give cricket another shot.
“It’s been a long while since I played at that level. After I did the knee I came home and really just wanted to get away from it all.
“I played five or six games with Footscray after I had signed for them, so I had thought I wanted to try and give them a bit back and it seemed like the right fit. I got along well with the president and coach.”
The former Irymple and Nursery Ridge paceman admitted he wasn’t the same tearaway bowler by the end of his Victorian contract as the one who burst on to the scene a decade or so ago, but he hopes the 2013-14 version of himself that earned a Victorian call-up can reappear.
“When I left cricket about 14 months ago I wasn’t the same bowler I was when I first entered the system,” he said. “Some of that was coaching and some because of injuries.
“It will be refreshing for me to be able to go into games with an open mind and go with the flow.
“It been playing on my mind thinking how I’ll go because Premier Cricket is a good standard. I’ll just back myself in and see how I go.”
Reed said he had been given support by Cricket Victoria ahead of his Premier Cricket comeback.
“Cricket Victoria has been nice enough to help me out with a pre-season program,” he said.
“I made a lot of friends there, having spent a fair bit of time in rehab; I built a good relationship with the physio and recovery team, so once I sent them a message saying I was going to play again they were kind enough to help me out.”
