The Boon name so revered in Australian cricket history has been revived with David’s son Jack named today among 38 players for an Australian Under-18 talent camp.
The sons of Boon’s former Test team mates Craig McDermott and Geoff Marsh will also be invited to attend the five-day camp at the Cricket Australia Centre of Excellence in Brisbane from October 6 to 10.
Alister McDermott is a pace bowler like his dad and has a rookie contract with Queensland.
Mitchell Marsh, meanwhile, will seek to join his brother Shaun who is already a member of Australia’s one-day side.
The under-18 squad also includes Queensland duo Andrew Tazelaar, a spinner whose father Dirk was a left-arm quick for the Bulls, and allrounder Nicholas Buchanan, son of former national coach John Buchanan.
The nominated players were identified by selectors Geoff Tamblyn, Brian McFadyen, Ray Bright and national chairman of selectors Andrew Hilditch, during the national under-17 championships in Melbourne in January.
The camp is part of Australia’s preparations for a series against a touring Indian under-18 team in April next year.
“We hope that at camps such as this we can identify some promising young talent and groom them for first-class and hopefully international representation in the future,” Cricket Australia’s general manager of cricket Michael Brown said today.
The list of players chosen for the camp is: Joel Garrett (SA), Tom Triffitt (TAS), Tom Brinsley (SA), Jack Boon (TAS), Glenn Dawson (SA), Marcus Davies (TAS), Craig Dand (SA), Peter Handscomb (VIC), Aaron Mullins (SA), Nathan Walsh (VIC), Alex Carey (SA), Kane Griffiths (VIC), Kane Richardson (SA), Steven Reid (VIC), Ben Dougall (SA), David Farrell (NSW), Anthony Del Borrello (WA), Josh Hazlewood (NSW), Tom Beaton (WA), Luke Doran (NSW), Mitchell Marsh (WA), Tim Armstrong (NSW), Cameron Balcomb (QLD), Nic Maddinson (NSW), Nicholas Buchanan (QLD), Adam Coyte (NSW), Ryan Meyer (QLD), Rob Edwards (NSW), Michael Johnson (QLD), Timm Van Der Gugten (NSW), Alister McDermott (QLD), Blake Hutchinson (NSW), Andrew Tazelaar (QLD), Ben Bourke (NSW), Michael Granger (QLD), Jordan McLennan (ACT), Hamish Kingston (TAS), Jason Floros (ACT).
LeftArmSpinner
Guest
It is interesting that such a high proportion of former players should produce talented kids. Presumably they didnt come thro the private school systems.
Spiro Zavos
Expert
There have been brothers playing Test cricket for Australia but the SMH has reported that the only father and son to do so goes back to Australia's first Test in 1877. Ned Gregory was a member of that first Australian side and scored a duck. His son Syd Greogry was, as Andrew Stevenson points out, far more successful for Australia: he captained the side, scored 201 against England in the first Test at the SCG and had made a record 58 Tests in the baggy green when he retired. It is clear from this current crop of talented youngsters that it is only a matter of time before there are more father-son Australian representatives at Test level. Shaun Marsh, son of Geoff, and brother of Mitchell who is in the under 18 talent squad, may well be the next. I think this is a function of the professionalism of cricket in Australia since the 1970/80s. In the pre-Packer era cricketers did not make enough money to indulge their sons in a cricket career, I believe. But now the cricketers are among the best paid members of the Australian society. Their kids can try and emulate the deeds of their dads, rather than having to make a living.