Marty Jeffrey’s tour of the United Kingdom might not have gone exactly to plan but it has left the Dubbo teenager motivated to make the 2017/18 summer his best yet.
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Jeffrey was part of the NSW Combined High Schools side, along with some of the state’s other most promising players, which has returned to Australian shores after a month long tour of the UK.
Unfortunately for Jeffrey, a broken thumb suffered in the third match ruled him out of the remaining games but it was still a tour of a lifetime.
“It’s probably not the thing you want to happen but you’ve just got to take it and move on,” he said.
“The three games I did play in were really great. Just playing on different surfaces and pitches and they played a different style too so I learnt a lot, even off the field when I was just watching.”
Jeffrey, who helped RSL-Colts to the RSL-Whitney Cup premiership last season, looks set to be out for another month before returning to pre-season training.
This pre-season shapes as one of Jeffrey’s most important as he will be making the move to a Sydney grade side.
Which club he will be playing for is not yet certain, as he also plans out his academic future at university following his year 12 studies at Dubbo College this year.
The tour of the UK helped Jeffrey learn to take a more patient and consistent approach to the game, while being part of a close-knit squad of 15 players also made it an incredibly enjoyable experience.
One of Jeffrey’s closest mates, Bathurst star Ryan Peacock, captained the NSW side and was a standout across the ten matches played.
Despite Peacock, and the other members of the squad, playing much more cricket than Jeffrey, the Dubbo youngster claimed one of the most prized wickets on tour.
It came in the very first match when Jeffrey removed a batsman with one of the most famous surnames in the game – Tendulkar.
“It was on the first day and we’d taken a few wickets, they were five down, and I got thrown the ball and the batsman at the non-striker’s end told me it was Sachin Tendulkar’s son coming out,” Jeffrey laughed.
“They’d already scored 250 by then so we thought that might go and get 400 but he’s more of a bowler. But it was great to play against people like him and others in that side had already played country cricket.”
It wasn’t just on the field where Jeffrey and his teammates got to experience things for the first time, with the players also taking part in a number of tourist activities.
They sat in on a test match between England and South Africa at Lords while there was also visits to the British Grand Prix, home grounds of English Premier League sides Liverpool and Leicester, as well as a number of historical sites around the United Kingdom.
Nick Guthrie
I started working at the Daily Liberal in 2013 and now hold the position of senior journalist. I cover all that's happening in sport in Dubbo and the wider western area and have a passion for doing so. If you've got a story that needs telling, reach out.
I started working at the Daily Liberal in 2013 and now hold the position of senior journalist. I cover all that's happening in sport in Dubbo and the wider western area and have a passion for doing so. If you've got a story that needs telling, reach out.
