Under-14s are country week champs

A team of young Broome cricketers have made their home town proud after a successful country week campaign earlier this month.

For the first time, Broome Junior Cricket Association sent an under-14s team down to Perth to compete in the junior country week competition and they walked away champions.

Led by coaches Scott Alexander and Corey Knox, the squad found themselves up against five other teams in their division — Geraldton, Bunbury, Busselton-Margaret River, Peel and Port Hedland.

Despite having a longer travel time than the other teams, Broome made it through the week’s competition undefeated.

Winning the overall competition was not the only feat that impressed officials.

Some of the players’ individual efforts stood out during the week, with two players named in the overall top 10 performers for both batting and bowling.

Ryley Alexander was the top run-scorer of the week with 169 runs, followed closely by teammate Jordan Binns on 132 and Tom Virgo on 97.

Leading wicket takers were Darcy Williams and Binns with seven wickets each, followed by Virgo with five.

WACA North West Cricket manager Andrew Hayes said the Broome team’s effort during junior country week was “most impressive”.

“Junior cricket in the North West is growing in strength and I couldn’t be prouder,” he said.

Kira Fong, who accompanied the team in Perth, said every player performed brilliantly.

“It was a great experience for the boys and they certainly learned a lot throughout the week,” she said.