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VICTORIA’S under-15 squad will feature two Bendigo cricketers when it heads to Adelaide next month.
Kangaroo Flat’s Jasmine Nevins and White Hill’s Letesha Bawden have been selected in a 13-player squad to contest the Under-15 National Championships.
Their selection followed months of playing testing and trial matches at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, Maribyrnong and Point Cook, starting back in June.
The talented all-rounders are among a contingent of six Northern Rivers region cricketers selected in the squad, which is expected to challenge strongly for the championship alongside perennial powerhouse New South Wales.
Nevins was a standout for Northern Rivers at this year’s Cricket Victoria Under-14 State Championships for Northern Rivers, posting 132 runs in five matches, including scores of 40 and 41.
She is no stranger to representing her state, having played for Victoria at the School Sport Australia Cricket Championships in 2016.
The 14-year-old said the championships offered a chance for her to improve her game against quality opposition.
“I’m sure I’ll gain some really good experience from it and more cricket smarts,” she said.
“I think they will be rotating the squad regularly, but with 13 girls in the squad there should be plenty of chances to play.”
Nevins has been in handy form for Kangaroo Flat during the 2017-18 Bendigo District Cricket Association season, with her under-14 A team currently undefeated.
A highlight for both girls during training has been the access to some of Cricket Victoria’s elite high-performance team members, top coaches and VicSpirit squad members Makinley Blows and Hayleigh Brennan, who are both contracted to WBBL club Melbourne Stars.
Bawden, 15, was looking forward to putting her best foot forward in Adelaide and representing her state alongside a “great bunch” of girls.
“It’s been a lot of fun – the girls take their cricket seriously but we have a lot of fun,” she said.
“With Jasmine in the team and all the other Northern Rivers girls, it’s nice having people you know and can talk to.
“It will be a great experience for us, playing just against girls and not the boys.
“It’s a bit difficult against the boys sometimes, when they start sledging you, but you have to block it out. You get used to it.”
Bawden, who spends her winters playing soccer with BASL club Golden City, is a bowling all-rounder and has been playing cricket for about five years after starting in the under-11s.
The tournament will run from January 17-24 and will comprise a mixture of 40-over and Twenty20 matches.