Young Colts learning from short form encounters

They may have been towelled up in both of their opening T20 matches, but the City Colts are learning from them and improving every week. Losses by 73 runs against Ovens Valley United and 27 runs to Rovers United Bruck mean their chances of making the final are slim, but that doesn’t mean there’s nothing to be gained from their remaining three matches. Captain Kent Braden said the back-to-back matches on the weekend gave his young team some much-needed exposure to T20 cricket at the highest level. “The two games in one day probably wasn’t an issue given how young they are, it was more the fact that maybe only Alasdair [Brett] had played some rep T20 stuff,” he said. “They play club under 16 20-over one-day games, but it’s not the same as senior T20s. “There’s something happening all the time, and it took them a little to adjust. “It’s not junior cricket, and that’s fine, we knew what we were getting ourselves into on the weekend. “They got better as the day went on.” There have been bright spots, such as Connor Ormond’s 38* from 46 balls and 4/20 against the Rovers, but too often there have been too few contributors. Consistency from the youthful list has been a rarity so far this season, but if more players can step up more regularly, the Colts will be a force to behold in the next few years. “It’s been the story all year – we’ve had one or two players step up each week, it hasn’t been the same players over and over,” Braden said. “They’re all having their moment in the sun, we just need a few more to have good days on the same day, that’s probably where we’re at. “It just seems one, maybe two a game – if we can get that to three or four or five or six having good games, then we’re going to be half a shout of winning. “That’s part of the learning point for them, finding out that they’re not going to succeed every week when they may have in junior cricket. “It’s just being comfortable knowing your turn will come, and most of them have had that moment already this year, it’s just how consistent can you become.” This weekend is their best chance so far to notch up a T20 win, when the Colts head down the Benalla, hoping to replicate the result from their one-day win over the Bushrangers. Braden said the side would back their chances of defeating Benalla once more, but the T20 format was fickle. “Given the fact they beat Benalla earlier in the year, that’s huge for the confidence knowing you can match it with a side,” he said. “The thing is with T20s, it only takes one or two players – if [James] Carboon or [Brayden] Stepien or Conor Brodie get going, we might be in a bit of trouble. “Having said that, if a couple of our kids get going, we’re going to be right in the game. “It’s exciting, back down at the Gardens, anything can happen in T20 cricket. “We’ve just got to keep working on being more consistent in all three facets of the game.”

Young Colts learning from short form encounters

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