Tryout Season Is Here: How to Get Your Young Cricketer Selection-Ready
- Dhana Murugavel
- Jun 4
- 3 min read
For young cricketers in Victoria, the next few weeks matter more than almost any others on the calendar. Marg Jennings squads are about to be named. Dowling Shield second-round trials are underway. Representative tryouts begin in the first week of July, and sub-district Craig Shield selections follow at the end of June.
Selectors are watching right now — and here's the thing most parents don't realise: the players who get picked aren't always the most naturally gifted in the room. They're the ones who walk in prepared.
What selectors are actually watching
It's easy to assume a tryout is all about your batting average or how many wickets you took last season. In reality, selectors are reading a much bigger picture in a very short window:
Technique that holds up under pressure — not just in the nets, but when it counts and nerves are high.
Fitness and athleticism — how a player moves, recovers and lasts. Selectors notice who's done the conditioning work and who hasn't.
Game awareness and match intent — decision-making, running between wickets, reading a situation. The "cricket brain" that separates similar players.
Temperament and coachability — how a young player responds to instruction, setbacks and pressure. This often tips a close call.
The players who shine across all four don't get there by accident. They get there with a focused run-in.
Why the run-in matters
Talent gets you noticed. Preparation gets you picked.
The weeks before trials are when small, deliberate work makes the biggest difference: sharpening technique under match-like pressure, lifting fitness so you stand out physically, and building the calm, confident mindset that lets a player show their best when it matters. Turning up to a tryout cold — hoping last season's form carries you — leaves far too much to chance, especially when the kid next to you has spent six weeks getting ready.
How Selection Ready prepares your child
That's exactly why we built Selection Ready — a focused six-week program designed to get committed young cricketers sharp, fit and confident in time for selections.
It's led by Dale McDonald, Head Coach at Footscray Premier Cricket — a coach who works inside the very Victorian pathway your child is trying to crack, and who knows what selectors are genuinely looking for. And he doesn't work alone. Players also train with our dedicated batting, bowling and fielding coaches, our strength and conditioning team, a sports psychologist, and a nutritionist and dietician. It's the complete high-performance system, in your child's corner, at the moment it matters most.
Every player also receives a Pathfinder performance report — a data-backed assessment they can take to their club and selectors as proof of their progress — and a direct line into the wider Elite Cricket Academy pathway, including our Victorian Elite Cricket League.
All of it runs at Elite Cricket Academy Hoppers Crossing: a five-year-established academy with an onsite gym and full 40-metre run-up indoor nets.
The details
Starts: Friday 19 June · 6 weeks · Friday evenings
Group 1 (Ages 10–13): 5:00–6:45pm
Group 2 (Ages 14–17): 6:45–8:30pm
For: Boys and girls preparing for Marg Jennings, Dowling Shield, Craig Shield, Representative and Premier U18 selections
Where: Elite Cricket Academy, Hoppers Crossing
Investment: $900 + GST
Places: Limited to 12 per group
Don't leave it to the week before
Selections happen once a year, and the window is short. If your child is serious about being picked, the time to prepare is now — not the night before the trial.
Spots are limited to 12 per group, and tryouts won't wait.
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