TIGHE Warburton continues to be one of Portland cricket’s brightest young stars, having recently been named in Western Waves under-16 side for the upcoming Country Cup in December.

Warburton, who plays for South Portland in both the under-16s competition and in their A grade side, is in his second year representing the Waves at this level having also been picked for the side in 2022-23.

Warburton said the prospect of once again playing representative level cricket is exciting.

“Last year I was pretty quiet and just wanted to knuckle-down, this year I want to take on more of a leadership role and contribute to success that way,” he said.

“(Having been in the team before) makes a whole lot of difference, I feel like I can go out there this year and just play without worrying too much about what everyone else thinks.”

Warburton has developed into a true all-around cricketer, having made A grade and under-16 half-centuries just in the last week, as well as having taken plenty of wickets over the years across multiple grades, while also trying his hand at keeping at times.

“The coach has told me I’ve got a role to play in the side with my bowling, but I really feel like in recent times my batting has just gone to another level,” he said.

“Even the last couple of months I think I’ve really improved, and the half-century on the weekend was a bit of proof.

“You tell yourself that you’re getting better, but until you do it in a game you don’t know and now I’ve done that, and I think it’s taken a lot of the pressure off.”

The Country Cup gets underway December 12 and is a four-day competition followed by a grand final on December 22.

The Waves are guaranteed to play at least four pool matches against opponents from Mallee Murray and Central Highlanders, before hopefully making it through to the grand final where they’ll face the winner of the other pool.