How Harry did us proud with an impressive shield debut

IT’S a team game so the measure of success in a cricket match is always going to be whether you won or lost as a group.

And on that score, the Victorian Bushrangers’ first Sheffield Shield match of the season against last year’s premiers South Australia was underwhelming.

The Redbacks’ captain and ultimately the man of the match Ben Manenti made the right call last Wednesday morning and sent the home side in on the usually docile Junction Oval wicket in conditions that offered the best hope of success all week.

And they made that advantage count going on to record an innings win over Victoria.

But all was not lost, especially for local cricket fans, with Koonwarra-Leongatha RSL left armer Harry Hoekstra making a stellar Sheffield Shield debut with both ball and bat.

Not only did he top score in the first innings with a fighting 45 off 122 deliveries when the chips were really down for the Vics but he took the first two poles, opening the bowling towards the end of Day One, including the wicket of former Australian test player Jake Weatherald for a duck as his initial first-class wicket.

Weatherald had cannoned into the fence during a fielding mishap earlier so might be forgiven for misjudging a pitched-up delivery from Hoekstra which left him slightly but it’s in the book now after a nice catch by fellow debutant Liam Blackford.

Hoekstra went on to take 4/57 by the end of Day Two as the go-to bowler, producing at least one wicket with each spell but the South Australian bats including Jake Lehmann (90) and Ben Manenti (128) were well set towards the end of the day, incidentally with Hoekstra removing both players while they were in damaging form.

Hoekstra acknowledged after the game that charging in against a rampant SA batting group was physically demanding.

“Yeah, 100%. You know, credit to South Australia, they batted really well and kept us out in the field for a long time. I haven't played too much four-day cricket, so the body's still getting adjusted to it,” said Hoekstra.

“Especially at the back end of Day Two it was quite challenging, but it was good too, you know, good to be out there in amongst it.”

Hoekstra backed up on Day Three adding Manenti as his fifth wicket with the South Australian total at 7/421 and Nathan McAndrew shortly after at 8/433.

But he was pretty cooked by then and copped a bit of stick from Noah McFayden, also on debut for South Australia, to finish with the figures of 6/103 off 27 overs, the biggest haul by a bowler on either side in the match.

Notwithstanding the result in the game, Hoekstra was pleased he’d acquitted himself well at the time-honoured Sheffield Shield level.

“Yeah, you know, obviously the outcome wasn't what we were after but on a personal note, I was really pleased how I went.

“Just the belief that you can perform at the level is pretty special. And then to be able to share the field with test cricketers and the like as well is special.

“You grew up watching these guys on the TV, and yeah, it's quite something to be out there with them.”

We asked him how he approached the match: Were you a little nervous or just really looking forward to getting out there?

“I mean, it’s probably a mixture of both. You know, obviously the nerves are going to be there, but no, I was certainly coming into the game feeling like I was bowling pretty well, so you know, hopefully taking that belief into the game and then yeah, maybe to transition that into the performance as well, which is good.”

We noted that he had contributed with the bat as well, in the first innings, something that impressed one of his junior coaches back in Leongatha, Rob Wood.

“Yeah, he helped me a lot when I was a young kid, Woody. Yeah, he was great coach, you know, got me right into the game down at Koonwarra, and I’m very grateful to have had him in my early years. That's for sure.”

And the bowling, we asked him about breaking through early and taking six-for.

“Yeah, we just bowled a couple of overs on Day One, and I felt like I could really attack the game, taking in the confidence from my batting as well and knowing that probably we were only going to bowl four or five overs that night. So yeah, to really try and let it go and I was lucky enough that I was able to take a wicket early on.”

So overall, on a personal note, a pretty good start.

“Yeah, I definitely would have taken that if someone had offered it to me. So yeah, hopefully I can just keep it up, you know, that's the tough thing but fantastic for sure.”

Hoekstra had just finished meeting with coaches and players after the match and took time out on Saturday morning against the backdrop of a superb-looking Junction Oval, the home of Cricket Victoria, to give the Sentinel-Times a moment of his time during which he thanked local coaches, family, teammates and friends who’d played a role, along the way, getting him to his first Sheffield Shield game.

The next four-day match for Victoria is against Tasmania at Ninja Stadium in Hobart starting Monday, October 19.