Well it certainly hasn’t been a great start for the Western Warriors. With three games of the Sheffield Shield already gone, the Warriors have only managed to win two points out of a potential 18.
Despite it being only Round 3 of the Sheffield Shield, it doesn’t look like Western Australia have any chance of winning this season’s competition.
Although this sort of news is probably not that surprising to most of us, it still is incredibly disappointing to most Western Australian cricket fans – even if they don’t religiously follow the Sheffield Shield like me.
Back in late 2012, the Perth team had a horrific T20 Champions League campaign which saw the Marsh brothers suspended after a boozy night out in Cape Town while celebrating Mitchell Marsh’s 21st birthday.
Marcus North quit as skipper, Lachlan Stevens resigned as the WA’s coach, and the Scorchers failed to win a single match.
A week later former Australian opener and Western Australian captain Justin Langer was appointed as the Warriors head coach. Langer had a lot to sort out – team culture and team performances to name a few.
Just a few months into Langer’s rein as coach, the improvement was very clear. Western Australia had turned around a horrid season and almost made it into their first Shield final since the 1998-1999 season.
Unfortunately, disappointed soon followed, with the Perth Scorchers continuing their terrible record in the T20 Champions League, failing to win once.
Soon after another disappointing Champions League campaign, the Western Australians got back into their limited overs’ gold uniforms and had an awful Ryobi Cup campaign. They finished second last, only managing one win – over Tasmania by 52 runs.
So why do I believe that the Warriors can become a dominant force on Australia’s domestic scene?
The youth in the Western Australian squad. Yes, those pesky Gen Ys.
What’s more, there are 13 of them under the age of 24.Will Bosisto, Marcus Harris, Mitchell Marsh, Ashton Turner, Hilton Cartwright, Cam Bancroft and Ashton Agar have all got bright cricketing futures.
With all of these Gen Ys in WA’s squad, they need some good role models to look up to. Marcus North, Adam Voges and Michael Beer have all played at international level and would make great mentors for these young cricketers.
It has been one year since the appointment of Justin Langer as WA’s head coach, and plenty has happened.
“I’m really enjoying the gig, it’s very challenging,” Langer has said. “I didn’t realise it’d be so full-on, but I’m enjoying it.”
Western Australia might not be thought of as any sort of threat in 2013/14, except maybe in the Big Bash League, but in a few years I can see Western Australia winning their first Shield title since the days when Langer himself was playing for the Warriors.
Who knows what the future holds? But there is one thing we all know – cricket works in cycles, and I believe WA’s time at the top is almost here.
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