IF YOU ever need to adjust your bowling line, just imagine what Pat Cummins would do.
That’s the attitude of Nichols Point under 14 captain Lachlan Faulkhead who, after taking four wickets, two slip catches and hitting 45 runs against Mildura Settlers, earned this round’s Junior Player of the week nomination.
Faulkhead, who describes his bowling as medium pace with not much swing, said he had improved his bowling over a few seasons of junior cricket.
“I used to be an awful bowler. Everything used to be off the pitch,” he said.
But he said he learned to slow down his deliveries, kept his arm close to his ear and if his bowling felt out of rhythm, he thought about what Pat Cummins would do.
“I like to see Pat Cummins. If he’s not bowling well, he just focuses and tries to put it on the top of off every time.”
It’s an approach the 13-year-old has been sharing with Ethan Hendy, another emerging bowler at Nichols Point whom he has been mentoring.
“We do a bit of bowling at training while the others are padding up and now he’s becoming a good bowler.
“He picked up his second wicket of the season on Saturday. That really hit him, and he was proud of himself, which is all we want to see.”
While Hendy took 1/8, Faulkhead contributed with 2/4 as Nichols Point bowled Settlers out for 57. In reply, the Pointers scored 4/132, including 45 for Faulkhead which included an 87-run partnership with Zavier Fry (50).
His batting performance took his tally to 99 runs in the last two at bats, which included 54 against Merbein South in round four.
It was the first half century in Faulkhead’s career, and one spurred by the threat of wet weather.
“When I went out there, my only goal was just bat and bat and hope it didn’t get called off. (I hit it) down the boundary a few times.”
He hit seven fours and reached 50 off “about 22 balls”.
Nichols Point have had consecutive victories to sit in the top four.
For Faulkhead, it was cricket strategy that motivated him as a bowler and captain.
“I’m a big nerd for cricket, I love breaking down the game,” he said.
He described his approach to taking the wicket of a Merbein South batsman. He noticed that a short ball unsettled the batsman, who edged it over the slips.
“The next few overs I just told the bowlers: ‘bowl it short into the pitch and it’s gonna jam him up’,: he said.
” (The batter) got dropped a few times, but then we finally got him. The plan worked.
“Just figuring out how to get different batsmen out is what I enjoy most – coming up with plans and bowling to it to get them out.”
As the SCA Junior Cricketer of the Round, Faulkhead receives a $50 voucher from Sportspower Mildura.
