George Town and Riverside product Aidan O'Connor has taken another massive stride towards realising his potential as a cricketer following selection for the Tasmanian Tigers.
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Picked in the Tigers' second XI squad, the bowling all-rounder will represent the state at a senior level for the first time at just 17 years old when the side plays in Queensland on Monday.
O'Connor has impressed with ball in hand to start the 2023-24 campaign, initially for the Blues where he ran through Westbury's top order on the way to figures of 4-19 off nine overs.
He backed that up the day after for the Greater Northern Raiders, claiming 2-43 from 10 - including the scalp of former NSW Blues cricketer Param Uppal, who he will play alongside next week.
Their next match against North Hobart bore witness to another two-wicket haul for the teenager, removing both of the Demons' openers for no score.
In truth, O'Connor's progression has been in full flow for some time now.
Last summer he played as an under-17 and 19 Tasmanian representative at the national championships.
Captaining the u17s, he scored the 15th-most runs, including two 50s, and claimed the 10th-most wickets at an average of 16.44. He also recorded the equal-most run-outs in the tournament.
Riverside first-grade captain Peter New believed O'Connor's improvements both on and off the field had led to his selection.
"We've probably seen this coming for a while, with his progression and the ability that he's had ever since he arrived at the club," New said.
"Obviously this year was a big winter for him with his broken leg and all that last year to finally get a good pre-season under his belt and it's starting to pay off.
"He's matured a lot, especially over the last 12 months, he's got plenty of drive. Now that he's starting to play at a high level, he's starting to learn about his own game and how to execute his skills best.
"He's obviously just got that raw ability with both the bat and the ball and especially his bowling this year has come on quite a way."
New said the club - which erupted with applause upon the announcement at training on Thursday night - was "super proud" of how far the teenager had come in such a short space of time.
"For him to be at this stage of his development, I probably didn't see it coming as quick as it has and that's a credit to him in the way he's applied himself to his cricket, to get here at this point in time. But we always thought he was there or thereabouts," he said.
With the Launceston Grammar student preparing for likely the biggest match in his burgeoning career to date, New kept his advice short and sweet.
"Just enjoy the experience, you get to travel interstate with some pretty handy cricketers and play against some pretty handy cricketers, so just enjoy it, back yourself and try and do as much learning as you can," he said.
Tamanian second XI squad
- Sam Rainbird (c)
- Iain Carlisle
- Zac Curtain
- Nick Davis
- Jake Doran
- Kieran Elliott
- Josh Hartill
- Tim Oakley
- Aidan O'Connor
- Nivethan Radhakrishnan
- Param Uppal
- Jesse Willmott