Dec. 3, 2013, 10:54 p.m.
JEFF Goninan's rapid rise through the representative cricket ranks continued yesterday when he was named to make his NSW Country debut alongside Stockton teammate Nick Foster.
JEFF GONINAN
JEFF Goninan's rapid rise through the representative cricket ranks continued yesterday when he was named to make his NSW Country debut alongside Stockton teammate Nick Foster.
Goninan and Foster were among five Novocastrians named for the Bush Blues, who will defend their Australian Country Championship crown in Canberra from January 6.
Merewether veteran Simon Moore, Belmont skipper Mark Littlewood and Toronto batsman Greg Hunt were the other Newcastle players named in the 13-man squad.
A first-grader for the past five seasons, 20-year-old Goninan has come of age in the past 12 months.
Last season he scored his maiden top-grade century, debuted for Newcastle and represented ACT under 19s at the national titles.
This season he has racked up 287 runs for Stockton at an average of 57.40, including scores of 111 and 109 against Newcastle City and Hamilton-Wickham in his past two innings.
"It was definitely a surprise," Goninan said yesterday of his selection.
The apprentice carpenter opens the batting and keeps wicket for the Seagulls but expected incumbent Tom Groth, of Tamworth, to wear the gloves during the national titles.
Foster made his debut at 17 for Newcastle in 2001, when he was playing second grade for Stockton. He has become a representative regular in recent seasons and has earned his first NSW Country cap with 11 wickets for Stockton in five games this season.
Hunt, who joined Toronto this season from Sydney club St George, is a former Australian under-19s captain and showed his class for Newcastle at the recent NSW Country northern zone carnival at Ballina.
Littlewood and Moore have been NSW Country mainstays for the past decade.
The latter is NSW Country's most capped player, having represented the Bush Blues 66 times.
He has also scored the most runs of any NSW player in the history of the Australian Country titles, compiling 2434 at an average of 38.63.
After winning the NSW Country Championship final last weekend, Newcastle was the most strongly represented region, ahead of runners-up Illawarra and Western.
The team will be coached by Glenn Rowlands, of the Central Coast, and Stockton's Ron Hancock is team manager.
NSW Country
Graeme Batty (c), Jonathan Cook, Dale Scifleet (Illawarra); Scott Burkinshaw (Central Coast); Tim Cox, Pat Rosser (Western); Tom Groth (Central North); Nick Foster, Jeff Goninan, Greg Hunt, Mark Littlewood, Simon Moore (Newcastle).
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