FORMER Grampians cricketer, Vincent Huf, has had a successful transition to Victorian Premier Cricket for Geelong Cricket Club, debuting in the Premier Firsts competition on Saturday.

Just three games after his permanent move from the Pumas, the 17-year-old got his opportunity thanks to a couple absences from the regular side and some good form in the seconds.

The Cats faced Richmond and while Huf didn’t claim a wicket, he bowled well, finishing with 0-24 off his five overs and didn’t bat.

This selection was on the back of strong performances in the seconds, including a two-wicket game in his round two clash against Footscray.

Huf removed both openers finishing with impressive figures of 2-23 off his six overs including one maiden, leading to his selection in the Vic Super Slam competition against Footscray.

He turned heads in the T20, finishing with 1-30 off his four overs, while bowling at some crucial times to some high-class batsmen rewarding him with his firsts debut.

Huf said playing the top grade had been a goal of his since he first signed with the club back in August and to achieve it so early in the season was a “big shock”.

“It was a pretty unbelievable experience, I didn’t expect it this early on that’s for sure, I knew I was in the mix during the week, but it was a big shock to receive the call up on Thursday,” he said.

“I trained at home because I played on Tuesday and then a mate messaged me and said congrats, I sort of said what are you talking about because I thought I was playing seconds,” Huf laughed.

“From there, the messages started coming through and a few calls which was a really special experience.”

The fast bowler said it was a special moment getting his cap presented by a former local and said it was a nice touch for his debut game.

“Angus Boyd presented me with my cap which was nice, he is a local boy who is also from down this way,” he said.

Boyd was a dominant player for College Cricket Club in the Hamilton and District Cricket Association (HDCA) before he made the move to play for Geelong.

The late call up for Huf came about after a number of players were unavailable for the side which included Brody Couch, Tom O’Connell and Josh Garner.

Couch and O’Connell were both called up to the Melbourne Stars ahead of the Big Bash League (BBL) season opener against the Sydney Sixers on Sunday night.

Huf said whether or not he would keep his spot in the side would depend strongly on availability, but said he had received positive feedback from the coaches.

“At the moment it depends on availability, contracted players like Couch and O ‘Connell being out in the Big Bash, spots will open up there with Couchy being in, I was lucky to have those opportunities so early,” he said.

“There are a couple other fast bowlers as well, it’s definitely still hard enough to crack into the side, but hopefully I can stay consistent and try and keep my spot in the team.

“The coaches and captains seem pretty happy with me at the moment, I’ve got some good positive feedback, I didn’t have the biggest impact on Saturday, but they were happy with the role I played for the team.”

Huf has enjoyed his time playing at Geelong and having other locals in Lachie Field, Fletcher Cozens and Fionn Neeson had eased the transition.

He has been forced to set new goals after ticking off his main one so early on in his time at the club with the next focus on playing as many games at the level as possible.

“It’s been really good down there so far, I’m really enjoying my cricket with a great bunch of boys who are really supportive,” he said.

“It (playing firsts) was something I aspired to from the start of the year and hoped to work towards later in the year, so to get it so early was awesome.”

Being selected in the Vic Super Slam last week was a great indication that Huf was on the right track to playing firsts, as he impressed coaches, he will play the round two of the T20s this afternoon.

“I was probably a little bit nervous before the game Tuesday in the Super Slam, but once I had the ball there I brushed them away and was pretty focussed on just bowling,” he said.

“Playing against people like Trav Dean who is just coming off a shield ton was pretty cool … I felt I bowled really well, and I think that was a big reason why I got the opportunity (to play firsts).”

Having not long finished school, Huf is currently working at home on the family farm and travelling up twice a week, but said he hoped to stay down in Geelong once he got his licence.

He said he had been able to put more time into his cricket since he finished school and had adapted well to the professional environment.

“The body is probably the best it’s ever felt, recovery has been nice and quick after games and the bowling is starting to get into a bit of a rhythm.

“Training is more professional, very serious and every minute on the track is at a high intensity, but it’s a really good training environment.”

Geelong Cricket Club head coach, Nick Speak said Huf was somebody the club really wanted to recruit and was impressed with his start to the season.

“He’s probably the beneficiary of some injuries and people going out of the main side, but he was a guy we wanted to recruit and spent a fair bit of time on last summer,” he said.

“There is strong competition but what we saw on Tuesday (in the T20), we wanted to keep him going, he played a good role (on Saturday).

“Last Tuesday was the first time I’d seen him play … he competed and bowled at not easy times including the 19th over, we also dropped him off his bowling, but he was 100 per cent in, fielded well and moves well.

“We have a few guys who travel down, there is a kid coming from Warrnambool, Fletcher Cozens who played well in the seconds on the weekend.

“Vincent is going to get a little bit of a run now into Christmas, he’s playing again Tuesday against Melbourne Uni and I think he will get some games … I think he will probably play this weekend.”