SACA’s Under 19 Male Winter Program squad has been selected ahead of their inaugural season in SACA Premier Cricket.
The side will be competing in Division Two, under the helm of new Head Coach Luke Butterworth.
| PLAYER | CLUB/COUNTRY ZONE |
| Kyle Adams | Kensington |
| Josh Bevan | Port Adelaide |
| Brandon Bray | Northern Districts |
| Thomas Brown | Adelaide University |
| Hamish Case | Tea Tree Gully/South East |
| Tejas Gill | Adelaide |
| Jackson Gillespie | Adelaide |
| Kane Halfpenny | Tea Tree Gully |
| James Hutchins | Adelaide |
| Walter Kinlock | Northern Districts/B&L |
| Jack Matchett | Kensington |
| Seb McVann | Kensington |
| Edward Milner | Prospect |
| Deakin Murphy | Woodville/Mid North |
| Hayden Schiller | Northern Districts |
| Rudransh Sharma | Adelaide |
| Tom Wilkinson | Glenelg |
| Will Young | Sturt |
Butterworth has been an assistant coach of the West End Redbacks for the last six years and is pleased with the squad they have assembled.
“I’m really excited – there’s some really good young batters and bowlers that already played some First Grade cricket last year,” Butterworth said.
“I’m looking forward to seeing what these players can do whilst playing amongst their peers too.”
Butterworth talked about how important this squad will be for South Australian cricket.
Not only will it give the squad an opportunity to play regularly together ahead of the Under 19 National Championships in December, is it also about developing the players for higher levels.
“We know that the Under 17s and 19s is a massive point in players’ careers, they need good coaches to help them develop,” Butterworth said.
“It’s also about developing the players so hopefully when they go back to their clubs, they are getting better players out of it.
“Once they come out of the Under 19 program, we want them to be in a good position to hopefully make the Redbacks squad – that’s our aim to develop as many Redback and Australian players as possible.
“I’d say having the two Premier Cricket divisions is a big positive too, there will be pressure on every game.”
It is Butterworth’s first foray into head coaching and his experience at State level has left him in a great position to take charge of the Under 19 side.
“I’ve been an assistant since I've started my coaching career, so to be able to run my own program and be in control of it, that’s something I've been looking forward to,” he said.
“Being in the top end for last six years has probably given me a good idea on what to really focus on as an Under 19’s group and things we really need to improve.
“I’m really excited to have these players week to week and I’m looking forward to seeing what we can achieve.”
The Under 19 winter squad will begin training on July 17.