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Gough gets taste of Aussie cricket
Andy Bradshaw, Jersey Evening Post
JERSEY cricketer Peter Gough has got his Australian 'tour' off to a good start with victories in his opening two matches.
Old Victorian Gough (22) is visiting Australia during Jersey's winter months playing for East Albury Crows, a club several of current Jersey skipper Matt Hague's former team-mates joined when Hague came to the Island several years ago. Competition is in the Albury and Wodonga Provincial League, which is generally regarded as one of the best leagues in New South Wales. Gough said: 'Matt's connections with the players gave me the perfect opportunity to come and play here and I'm really enjoying it. The cricket is quite different from what we play in Jersey, with the competition being two-day matches played over two weekends. However, the games are still only one innings of a maximum of 80 overs per side, so you basically bat one week and field the next. It's a real motivation not to get out early if you are batting because if you do you'll sit on your backside all day. That's just what happened to me in my first game as I scored just eight runs! 'The standard is good., I'd say it would be similar to playing against full-strength sides likes Romerils and Sporting Club every week. However, a major difference here is that each side has one or two big and quick bowlers and on the harder pitches they can give you a bit of a working over with the short ball. 'They also have three or four quality batsman, similar to the standard of Matt Hague, Ryan Driver and Steve Carlyon, who can really hurt you with the bat. Batsmen with 80 overs to bat rarely give bowlers opportunities with loose shots, so we have to work really hard with the ball to bowl sides out. 'I must admit that after playing a similar format of two-day county cricket with Dorset as a youngster, I was slightly worried that fielding might be a little boring, especially in the heat and with the batters not giving many chances. 'However, the Aussie boys don't let the game drift along for a second as they are always pumped up to do well. Their attitude is unbelievable - they love fielding and literally throw themselves head-first at a ball before letting it go past them. 'I think it has helped that my bowling has been working well in recent weeks, and that is something I put down to the regular training, twice a week, and the fact that we have excellent coaches - all of whom have come from playing first-grade cricket in Sydney or Melbourne, where teams contain five or six fully contracted professionals.' Gough, who bowls off-breaks and is a strong fielder, ranks East Albury as a strong club who would have a great game with a full-strength Island team. They have won their opening two matches against North Albury and St Patrick's - the champions and runners-up respectively last season. Left-hand Gough scored eight runs and took one wicket for 36 runs in 15.5 overs against St Patrick's. Against North Albury he scored 62 runs and his 20 overs resulted in four maidens and one wicket for 43 runs. Gough added: 'The pitches are harder and they take a bit of getting used. The outfields are bumpy and quick and you have to keep your eye on the ball because it moves all over the place. 'I'm here until April, which will be two weeks after the grand final. In term of my own ambitions, I just enjoy playing the best standard of cricket I possibly can. I'm not someone who gets anything out of playing weaker sides because that does not really offer any opportunity to improve. 'When I get back to some time in the future I'm hoping to return to university to qualify as a geography teacher. If I do that, it should allow me to carry on playing good-quality club cricket - and football - and try and do as much for youth cricket in terms of coaching, whether it be in Jersey or England. 'So far my trip has been a great experience. The club have looked after me well, getting me a job, somewhere to live and a car to get about in. I have also taken up the role of junior coaching co-ordinator with the club, which as well as a bit more money, allows me to continue trying to improve my coaching.'
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