STAR cricketer Will Hardie came to Portland from the United Kingdom to make runs and take wickets, and while he’s done plenty of that (when the cricket has actually been on), his trip Down Under has been about a whole lot more.

The 24-year-old Scottish batsman has been spending most of his days out working on the Keiller sheep farm in Cashmore and said the promise of an all-around life experience that was given to him by Portland Tigers has well and truly been lived up to.

“It’s been a really sociable environment, obviously I’m living out of town but every chance I get to be a part of the community I’ve been taking it,” Hardie said.

“I’ve quite enjoyed living out here… I’ve gotten into a good routine of being out here during the week and then spending time with the lads on the weekend.

“I’ve thoroughly enjoyed working on the farm… it’s hard work for sure, but I knew that going in.

“I’ve learnt a lot along the way, it’s obviously something I’ve not done before, working on a sheep farm… it’s hard work, long weeks, but an amazing learning experience.”

Cricket has always been a big part of Hardie’s life, as while he got his start back home in Scotland, he’s travelled far and wide in pursuit of the sport he loves.

“I first started playing organised cricket when I was six or seven years old… I started taking it pretty seriously when I was got picked to play at a regional level when I was 12 or so,” Hardie said.

He was given the opportunity to play school cricket on a scholarship to Dundee High School when he was 13, and from there things really took off.

“I was picked to play for Scotland in the under-15s, 17s and 19s teams, and then after school I got back into playing club cricket,” he said

“From there I went to South Africa during my gap year to play, and I remained involved in the Scotland set up until the end of the 2021 season.

“I played some more club cricket earlier this year… got the opportunity to play at Lord’s which was a pretty phenomenal experience.

“I travelled around quite a lot and played at a number of different clubs… including a little bit in London as well.”

He added that the opportunities to play in different parts of the UK, as well as overseas in South Africa and now down here in Portland, has been one of the major benefits of playing the sport at such a high level.

“They’ve been amazing experiences, and I think it’s also good to have these connections going forward… I can come back out to Australia or to New Zealand or South Africa for another go-around now I’ve been out here once before,” he said.

“It’s quite handy to be able to come to a community where you don’t know anyone, and you’ve got your route in through cricket straight away… it’s a nice way to be welcomed in really.”

As for the cricket itself, Hardie has had a very solid season so far, when he’s actually been able to get out and play.

Unfortunately, due to a combination of poor early-season weather and a hamstring injury which has seen him sidelined for a few weeks in the lead-up to Christmas, Hardie only had four opportunities to don the Tiger colours in 2022.

In those four appearances, he made 139 runs for just two dismissals, with the highlights being his two most recent innings of 55 not out and 46.

But his best effort of the season came with the ball, as he ripped through Gorae-Portland’s batting line-up, claiming 7-10 with his off-spinners.

His individual efforts translated into overall team success as well, with the Tigers currently sitting on a 5-1 record heading into the back end of the season, having gone undefeated in games Hardie was playing in.

Speaking about the on-field performances from both an individual perspective and a team perspective, Hardie said that despite the frustrations of not being able to get on the park, he’s been pleased with how the team has performed when they have gotten out there.

“We certainly can’t complain about our performances… thinking back to our first game the team as a whole, myself included, didn’t play all that well and we still managed to win… I think that boded well for the season ahead,” he said.

“We’ve played a lot better as a team since then, and fortunately I was able to do better on an individual level as well.

“I think we’ll be pretty tough to beat… obviously anything can happen on any given day, but hopefully we can come out of it on top.

“Obviously I (didn’t) play in the last couple of games, but prior to that I think I was hitting my stride… very happy with the half-century against Tyrendarra… it was frustrating not getting wickets early on but that came right against Go-Ports.”