AFTER an absence of two years due to the pandemic, Melbourne Country Week is back in the calendar and the Hamilton and District Cricket Association (HDCA) will be sending the Hurricanes to participate in division two of the carnival.

The HDCA selectors have chosen a squad that has experience and youth, as the squad seeks to win the division and gain promotion into the Provincial grade for next summer.

Tobi Cook has been named as captain with Rick Killey and Simon Close as his deputies, and together this leadership group will be looking to mould the squad into a functioning unit right from the first ball on Monday.

Cook has been groomed for this role after he was selected as a teenager several years ago and he has grown into a fine leader over that time.

The selectors have chosen players they hope to build future squads around with the inclusion of Jack Austin, Henry Bensch, Hamish Cook, Ollie Wortley, Carey Megaw and Caleb Millard who are expected to be in the team for many years to come.

The team will play Wangaratta at Merv Hughes Oval on Monday, Bellarine Peninsula at Hoppers Crossing on Tuesday, South West at Strathmore on Wednesday, and Portland at Greenvale on Thursday before hopefully earning the right to play the final on Friday.

Nic Cullinane returns as coach and is excited about the makeup of the squad for the carnival, but also for the future.

“This is a very exciting time for the players, as we haven’t been able to go to Melbourne for a couple of years, and this squad is a great mixture of youth and experience,” Cullinane said.

“This is the best available side we can put together, and while we have chosen the side on performance, we also had an eye on the future with a number of young blokes selected who will be around the district for many years to come.

“There are nine debutants selected in the side who have never experienced Melbourne Country Week before, and while there will be nerves to begin with, they will soon settle in and allow their skills to show through.

“We have some exciting new players in the side with Carey Megaw, Harrison Wood, Ben Wallis and Ollie Wortley ready to burst onto the scene.”

The experienced players will help to anchor the innings early on, with Cullinane hopeful the team’s power and aggression late in the innings can push them to winning scores.

“I like to think that Simon Close and Simon Sharrock at the top of the order will give us great starts on which Rick Killey, Tobi Cook, Wortley, Peter Staude, Jack Austin will build the innings from there, with the all-rounders in Megaw, Bensch, Wood and Wallis to score freely in the death overs,” he said.

“ Everyone knows their role and we have a very good fielding side so we will put pressure on the opposition not just with the bat and ball but also in the field.”

“Even if we don’t win, so long as the boys learn something that they can take into their individual games that helps them improve then I will be happy.”