DUNKELD cricketer, Vincent Huf, is in Darwin this winter to gain valuable experience in a foreign destination and to further his already burgeoning cricket career.

After being sidelined through injury over the last 12 months, on and off the field and unable to gain full fitness due to a thumb injury picked up playing football, Huf is back to his best and will play in the Darwin and District Cricket Competition (DDCC) Premier Grade with the Tracy Village club.

The young fast bowling all-rounder is playing Cricket Victoria Premier Cricket with Geelong, where he has been in and out of the First XI for the last couple of summers, as the club looks to develop his game to the level required to be a permanent fixture in the side and then on to higher honours.

The DDCC follows the schedule the Hamilton and District Cricket Association uses, with seven rounds of one-day games followed by seven rounds of two-day games with a one-day final and premiership final.

There is also a T20 competition plus representative competitions that Huf will no doubt be involved in too.

Huf had his choice of clubs to join, but after careful consideration, he settled on Tracy Village.

“I had a few contacts and asked around about which club would give me the best opportunities, which led me to choose Tracy (Village) in the end,” Huf said.

“There are different competitions that take place throughout the season, and I’m hoping to get selected for and the Top End Series as well.”

Having been clocked bowling at faster than 130kph, Huf will be a weapon for Tracy Village with the ball, but it is his batting and fielding that will hand his club extra skills.

“I’m mostly looking for a change and having a full year of playing cricket, which is something I haven’t experienced before,” Huf said.

Many players from the southern states head to the Top End, as they follow the dry season up north to play cricket during the winter, with a maximum of six interstate players permitted to be named within a single team.

Tracy Village has set Huf up with a part-time job working for a cabinet maker, and has organised his travel to and from Darwin, but he doesn’t get paid to play.

Huf hopes the winter spent in Darwin will set him up for another summer with Geelong, but he also has his eyes on a season in England in the future.

“At this stage I’ll be returning to Geelong,” Huf said.

“I would like to head over to England to play, but being still in the underage system with Cricket Victoria, it made it too hard to undertake this year.