Australia v England 4-Day – U19 Men
As Australia's U19 squad gear up to face England, young gun Liam Blackford is relishing a rare opportunity for an extended red-ball clash
Riley Alexander
28 January 2023, 01:05 PM AEST
@Ralexander2002
Very few players in Australia's U19 men’s squad have experience red-ball cricket at all over the past few years, let alone over the course of four days.
But as they prepare for the first of two four-day matches against England starting on Sunday, Victorian wicketkeeper-batter Liam Blackford goes in quietly confident being one of those few.
The 19-year-old has played three second XI games for his state already this season, with his best effort coming in an away fixture against Queensland – where he will line up for the Aussies later this week – when he made his way to 97 off 142 balls.
Now one of the most accomplished top-order batters in the junior Aussie side, Blackford is looking to lean on all his experience in the longer format of the game when he strides out onto Allan Border Field.
"Obviously playing them (four-day games) before it's been good to experience and that should hold me in good stead knowing what to expect a little bit more," he tells cricket.com.au.
"Physically it's a lot more challenging. Waking up before day four, you're definitely feeling pretty stiff, so you just have to chuck the whites back on and get out there.
"I definitely love the longer format of the game and I was talking to the boys the other day just playing two-day cricket about how much I prefer the longer format as it's not as chaotic.
"Just to take your time in more aspects, especially batting, that's one reason I prefer longer form cricket, so it should be good to play for four days with the boys."
If you think you've heard Blackford's name before, it's because you probably have.
The left-hander has been touted as a player to watch since he was 12 years old – making his debut in APS High School cricket for Geelong College as a year seven, to put him in company with only Will Pucovski as players to have done so dating back to 1908 when the competition started.
He has continued to put his name up in lights since, making a Cricket Australia XI to play at the Under 19 Championships as a 15-year-old, and making a plethora of representative teams throughout his junior career.
It’s why he credits this body of work for his selection in Australia's team for their multi-format series throughout late January and February, despite admitting he wasn’t at his best during the recent U19 carnival for Vic Country.
"I didn't really have the tournament I wished to have over there, but to still get rewarded I suppose through Second XI cricket and then obviously 19s a little bit was good," he said.
"I'd say probably over the last few years and playing U19s for multiple years, that's probably been my strongest case for getting selected."
But selections haven’t always gone his way. The teenager was shattered to learn he had narrowly missed out on Australia's team for the U19 World Cup in the Caribbean early last year.
It’s this desire to prove he was good enough to be on that campaign that has driven him so ferociously over the past year.
"I'd say last year not getting selected in the World Cup squad was pretty disappointing for myself," he said.
"You take the setbacks in the short career that I've had so far to keep trying to build as a player and then, not prove people wrong, but show them that you are a good enough player to be in that position.
"Then it's really not worrying about anyone else and just focusing on your own game and then making sure your game is in good stead. I definitely worked really hard after that."
The powerful batter, who joined the Melbourne Stars academy for a stint in Darwin during the 2022 winter, is also a talented wicketkeeper.
Game on! Liam Blackford is going LARGE. 68 runs from 42 balls required. #StarsAcademy pic.twitter.com/ErVYbggcSq
While he says it is a crucial aspect of his game, he also hopes that his batting is at a point where he can be selected in sides whether he is the first choice 'keeper or not.
"I enjoy keeping but it can be very tough – it's a very unrewarding job sometimes," he said.
"I'll continue to keep. I prefer keeping in the longer format, you're always in the game and always getting opportunities.
"In grade cricket I'm keeping which is good. Week in, week out doing a fair bit of training there and most teams I've been a part of I've wicket-kept.
"I'd also be happy if I was just in a team batting and I'd like to think that my batting is at a level where I can bat and also field if there's another person who's keeping."
Blackford will be a leader amongst a squad which he is familiar playing with, leading many of his teammates such as Tom Balkin, Luke Holt and Will Salzmann alongside Joel Davies for the CA XI in years gone by.
While Davies is sole captain this time around, Blackford will again use his experience to play a major role in the team knocking off their English rivals.
"I'm really excited to see how they go about things and obviously how we about things against that. It should be good and challenging and I will love the experience," he said.
"Not being a World Cup year (is unfortunate), but to have a month away in Queensland against England it's not a bad substitute.
"It should definitely help me (being part of the CA XI in the past). I'd like to think I could be a leader amongst the boys that we're going to play with.
"I know they're really good young fellas and there's good leaders throughout that team and they all show different leadership qualities, so I'll definitely be along with Joel and the other boys trying to help him out."
Australia v England – Under 19 Series
Four-day matches:
Sunday Jan 29 – February Feb 1: Allan Border Oval, Brisbane, 10am local
Monday Feb 6 – Thursday Feb 9: Alan Pettigrew Oval, Brisbane 10am local
50-over matches:
Monday Feb 13: Allan Border Oval, Brisbane, 10am local
Wednesday Feb 15: Allan Border Oval, Brisbane, 10am local
Friday Feb 17: Ian Healy Oval, Brisbane, 9am local
T20 match:
Friday Feb 19: Ian Healy Oval, Brisbane,TBC
Australia Male Under 19 Squad: Harry Dixon (VIC Metro/St Kilda Cricket Club), Liam Blackford (VIC Country/Geelong Cricket Club), Ethan Jamieson (NSW Metro/University of NSW Cricket Club), Harjas Singh (NSW Metro/Blacktown Mounties Cricket Club), Joel Davies (NSW Metro/Manly Warringah Cricket Club), Hugh Weibgen (QLD Metro/Valley District Cricket Club), Lachlan Aitken (QLD Metro/Gold Coast District Cricket Club), William Salzmann (NSW Metro/Campbelltown Camden District Cricket Club), Tom Balkin (QLD Metro/Toombul District Cricket Club), Mahli Beardman (Western Australia/Melville Cricket Club), Josh Vernon (Western Australia/Pegs Creek Cricket Club), Charlie Anderson (NSW Metro/Northern District Cricket Club), Tom Straker (NSW Metro/Sutherland District Cricket Club), Luke Holt (Western Australia/Willetton District Cricket Club), Harkirat Bajwa (VIC Country/Melbourne Cricket Club)
England Male Under 19 Squad: Tom Aspinwall (Lancashire), Jacob Bethell (Warwickshire), Joseph Eckland (Unattached), Bertie Foreman (Sussex), Sheridon Gumbs (Surrey), Jack Harding (Unattached), Alex Horton (Glamorgan), Matthew Hurst (Lancashire), Dan Ibrahim (Sussex), Eddie Jack (Hampshire), Dominic Kelly (Hampshire), Mitchell Killeen (Durham), Archie Lenham (Sussex), Stanley McAlindon (Durham), Yousef Majid (Surrey), Ben McKinney (Durham), James Rew (Somerset), Jamal Richards (Essex), Harry Singh (Unattached), Charlie Tear (Sussex), George Thomas (Somerset), Ross Whitfield (Durham)
cricket.com.au is a production of CA Digital Media – a division of Cricket Australia.
© 2023 Cricket Australia.
All rights reserved.
