Sid Harvey thrilled with selection in AW Green Shield team of the season

Local cricketer Sid Harvey has been in red-hot form during the 2021-22 season, which has taken him all the way to the harbour city to play the game he loves.

The 16-year-old Tatts Cricket Club and Narrabri District Cricket Association representative team all-rounder has had a disrupted NDCA season due to the washouts that affected the local first grade competition before Christmas and more recently due to injury.

He did, however, earn the chance to travel to Sydney to compete in NSW Premier Cricket’s AW Green Shield which got underway late last year.

That was an opportunity he grabbed with both hands.

The state’s premier under-16 club competition’s rules dictate that each club can include two country players in their respective rosters.

While Sid, the son of Denis and Carmel Harvey, was unable to try out for a team because he had a broken arm at the time of trials, his performances, effort and dedication at the Central North NSW Academy did not go unnoticed and led to him gaining a spot on the Sydney Cricket Club roster.

The country boy took the city by storm in his first match for Sydney as he took 4-20 from seven overs in his team’s six-wicket opening-round win on home soil against the Blacktown Mounties at Drummoyne Oval.

Sid went on to play all seven of the side’s preliminary round games, four of which were contested in December and were followed by the remaining three in January.

He took 13 wickets at 14.08, which saw him rank fourth on the leading wicket-taker list, just one wicket back from the duo which ranked first and second.

That led to the Narrabri youngster being named in the AW Green Shield Merit XII (team of the year), a fantastic achievement that the aspiring NSW cricketer will remember forever.

“It was a bit of a shock to be honest,” Sid told The Courier.

“I didn’t know what to think of it, but now that I’ve had time to process it and the fact I’m up there with the top bowlers in that competition, it’s a massive confidence boost.

“I came back into the Narrabri comp keen to bowl again, but I’ve been in and out a bit with my shoulder. I hurt it in the (AW Green Shield) quarter-final.”

The Narrabri youngster was nervous when he arrived in Sydney for his first training session and was overawed by the facilities. However, a sensational debut and some friendly teammates helped him settle in quickly.

“Our first game was on a Thursday, and the team trains down there on Tuesdays and Thursdays, so I went down on the Tuesday for training,” he said.

“I didn’t really know what to do at first, but I was loving it. The facilities at Drummoyne Oval are amazing.

“In our first game, we won the toss and chose to bowl. They threw me the ball and told me I was opening the bowling.

“I landed my first ball, then I bowled two wides, but two balls after that I bowled him with a big hooping in-swinger. That was nice. It was a bit of a settler to relax me a bit.

“I was 4-8 off four then ended up with 4-20. It was a good start.

“The boys at Sydney were awesome, and after that four-fa they welcomed me in straight away. They were keen to find out where I was from and what I do.

“They were awesome.

“Our captain and his older brother are really involved in the club, and they have a real passion for what they do and how they play cricket.

“It was good to be around that.”

Sid’s small taste of NSW Premier Cricket has left him with an appetite to return to Sydney in the future and play at a higher level.

In the 2021-22 AW Green Shield campaign, Sydney won four of its seven games to finish seventh on the 20-team ladder and earn a spot in the quarter-finals.

However, Sid and his teammates were eliminated on January 23 when they went down against defending champions Northern District.

Northern District won its semi-final to reach the decider but went down against new champs St George at Hurstville Oval.

The AW Green Shield is regarded as one of the strongest junior club competitions in the world, and it also forms part of NSW Premier Cricket’s Club Championship.

Many NSW and Australian players have emerged from the competition in the past, including Pat Cummins, Steve Smith, David Warner, Mitchell Starc, Sean Abbott, Stephen O’Keefe and Kurtis Patterson.