By JARROD POTTER
MOST schoolies aren’t too concerned with what’s going on back at home, but for Endeavour Hills cricketer Zach Allen, a pretty significant announcement took place unbeknownst to him.
Allen, 17, from Narre Warren, will trade his Endeavour Hills whites for Victorian colours as he was selected in the final 13-man squad for the Cricket Australia Under-19 National Championships, held this season in Adelaide.
A bit of fun on the Gold Coast this week had Allen forgetting to check whether or not he made it into the squad, but his mum kept him in the loop and gave him yet another reason to celebrate.
“I accidentally forgot a little bit because I’m up in Queensland at the moment and they don’t do daylight savings so I was a little behind on checking it,” Allen said.
“Was meant to check at 3pm but I checked at 3.30pm but my mum already told me which was a huge relief.”
His efforts in the Country/Metro series earlier this year in Barooga helped seal his spot in the roster – as the well-known run-machine clobbered a half-century and impressed in spots ranging from opener to number four.
His hopes for Adelaide are driven by team success – whether or not the runs come personally for him is a secondary concern.
“I just really want to give it my best,” Allen said.
“Not so much worried about trying to make all the runs and all that, but just help the team, really.”
Allen is currently unaffiliated with a Victorian Premier Cricket club, plying his craft primarily with Endeavour Hills in the Victorian Sub-District Cricket Association, but has decided to head out to the Junction Oval next season to join St Kilda Cricket Club.
“I’m going to St Kilda next year – got a couple of mates up there and played a Sunday game with them a month and a half back and playing with them again on Sunday,” Allen said.“Endeavour Hills this year has been good – we’re doing much better than last year and I think the team has bonded a bit better and everything is starting to come together.”
It’s been a 2014 to savour for Allen after striking a match-defining half-century on the MCG in February to guide the Southern Pioneers part of the way towards a state championship and a player-of-the-tournament nod.
The Victorian under-19 team start its campaign with a practice match against an Under-20 Victorian Premier Cricket team at Mervyn Hughes Oval on Tuesday.
