ADCA captain Coen Marwick optimistic ahead of senior country week despite key omissions

New Albany and Districts Cricket Association captain Coen Marwick is confident this year’s senior country week side can succeed despite missing some key players.

The Whalers will be looking to right the wrongs of last year’s shock Section A semi-final loss to Peel as they begin their quest for a 16th title in Perth on Sunday.

Albany and Districts won the 2019 Boan Cup by beating Upper Great Southern at the WACA before finishing sixth in 2020 and then crashing out of the 2022 tournament in disappointing fashion.

The Whalers will be hit by two key omissions this year with Mt Barker pair Nathan Crudeli and Jeremy Wood unavailable due to Australian Cricket Championship commitments.

Despite their absence, the Whalers will have a strong squad that includes international trio Myles Holland, James Bottomley and Oliver Davidson.

“I’m very pleased with the group we’ve put together, we have very good bowling depth and we bat until the end as well,” said Marwick.

“I think they’re all top five at their club so I think we can still put in a pretty good effort.

“It will be good to play with two of the English lads and Ollie the Scot, and I think it’s always good to get out there and play with all the other good cricketers from down here.”

Marwick, who has been in excellent form at club level, will captain the side for the first time and said he is looking forward to the unique experience of leading his players out.

“I’m very excited about the opportunity, it’s a bit of an honour, so I’m proud and grateful to be given the opportunity by the association,” he said.

“It’s a long week so you look for contributions from everyone, it’s a lot to ask one guy to carry the load.

“Having said that, you look at past winners and even when we’ve won, sometimes a guy has a good week, so maybe it’s going to be one of the top five guys who’s going to have a big week with stick

“It’s definitely a bit interesting this year with the Place XI at the same time – everyone is a bit affected by that.

“I think Geraldton are probably the least affected by it, they’ll probably be quite strong and they’re in our group.

“Bunbury are always very good, they’ve got a lot of numbers there so we’re looking forward to some tough competition.”

Lincoln Joy and Seb Stanton will carry a heavy load with the bat for the Whalers main team and their side will also contain teenagers Ryley and Teague Valli and Mohit Jaggi.

Experienced South Australian Alex Garlick and Scotland international Davidson will play key all-rounder roles.

The A section competition is split into two groups with Albany and Districts facing Eastern Goldfields in their first game on Sunday before taking on Bunbury and Districts on Monday and then Geraldton on Wednesday.

The semi-finals will be played on Thursday followed by the finals on Friday.

The Whalers will also send a B-Section and C-Section team to the week-long tournament.

Section A team

Coen Marwick (Captain)

Ryan Kinnear

Seb Stanton

Alex Garlick

Ollie Davidson

Lincoln Joy

Myles Holland

Ben Gray

James Bottomley

Mohit Jaggi

Ryley Valli

Teague Ball

Section B team

Jed Schwarzbach

Aran Tilbury

Steven Scott

Jason Jones

Hayden Davies

Cameron Newbold

Ryan Tindale

Lachie Tindale

Angus Thompson

Shane Manser

Craig Anning

Caesarean section team

Darren Gray

Riley Wood

Gary McGlade

Graeme Wienert

John Flour

Aldo Lionetti

James Morris

Ashley Hornby

Blair Hutton

Andrew Sutherland

Rob Stan-Bishop

Phil Pearce

Rodney Light