Sport
11 December, 2023
Beaufort’s English duo talk cricket ahead of fairytale one-day grand final appearance
One could call them the Beaufort Crow Bros. Englishmen Jack Smith and Joe Kingsbury have settled in beautifully to a Beaufort team which has made a remarkable recovery this season, going from a winless campaign across the 2022/23 season to being one...
One could call them the Beaufort Crow Bros.
Englishmen Jack Smith and Joe Kingsbury have settled in beautifully to a Beaufort team which has made a remarkable recovery this season, going from a winless campaign across the 2022/23 season to being one of the contenders.
Now, they’ll have an opportunity to end the reign of incumbent champions Laanecoorie Dunolly this Saturday in the one-day grand final, and they’re most certainly excited about it — even if it has been a month since they’ve taken to the field.
“It’s really good knowing we can contribute to this team, and it’s good seeing the lads improve from what we know from last year. So, it’s good for the club and we’re impressed with what we’re seeing,” Smith said.
Kingsbury is in the same frame of mind.
“I’m quite confident, and I think we have a strong team. Going into a grand final after not playing for four or so weeks is going to be a struggle, but Laanecoorie Dunolly will be around the same. I am proud of the boys, I feel like we deserve to be there,” he said.
Both Smith and Kingsbury have made an instant impact, with Smith in particular shining with the bat, while Kingsbury has contributed with the ball.
Smith is currently ranked second on the Crows’ runscoring charts, scoring 146 runs at an average of 29.2, which has included a high score of 40 as he helped guide the Crows to victory over Carisbrook in their last game.
Not bad for a young man who came here as a bowler — and although he’s only taken one wicket so far, he’s getting much more confident either way.
“Cricket-wise, I came here as a bowler, but I have made my way with the bat, and felt comfortable. I’m looking to get some more runs, but it has been a brilliant experience so far,” Smith said.
Kingsbury says he felt a little bit of pressure upon arrival, having enjoyed what he felt was the best season of his life so far back at home.
Nevertheless, Kingsbury has performed well, taking four wickets at a steady average of 36, and scoring 57 runs at an average of 28.5.
Kingsbury knows he’ll continue to improve, especially with the two-day games and the red ball on the horizon.
“Cricket-wise, I’ve just come off the best season I’ve ever had in England, and coming here for the first couple of games, I felt there was a lot of pressure,” he said.
“But (captain) Ben Woolidge helped me ease into it, relax, and I felt like the one-day and two-day games I’d find my own enjoyment in bowling.”
Their journey has taken them from Barns Green Cricket Club, which has helped them develop their love for the game.
“To me, my journey is the love of cricket from a young age,” Smith said.
“I played at a local village at Barns Green back home, and also going to a school which I was lucky enough to have excellent facilities, which expressed my love for the game more.
“I moved around a little bit, playing division two cricket for Sussex, before going back to Barns Green, which then led me to Beaufort.”
Great mate Kingsbury shares a similar sentiment.
“I’ve been playing cricket since I was eight,” he said.
“And what it’s done is allowed me to meet a great group of lads who I can call my best mates. And having that has made me love it. I’ve never lost the passion and I’ve just really enjoyed it.
“Jack was saying that he was coming out to do a season in Australia, and he asked me if I would like to come as well. It was a great opportunity I could take.
“I’ve also played at Barns Green my whole life.”
The feeling at Beaufort, both say, is quite similar to the environment at Barns Green, which has helped accelerate their process of fitting in.
“Beaufort has been so welcoming as a community. It feels so homely, and we’ve slotted right in,” Smith said.
“Since day one, the club has been so welcoming, and knowing at training, they are there to get advice from, regardless of if there’s problems for us in the club or out the club, knowing those kinds of figures are there in the leadership group.”
Kingsbury also has the same viewpoint from his perspective.
“I’m loving it. The community Beaufort has is similar to the one we have back home. There’s so much banter, and everyone loves it,” he said.
“Everybody has made an effort, and the club will always check on us.
“Ben will ask us how we are getting on, Andrew Oddie is a top bloke, helping us out, and so is Lachlan Oddie.
“They are taking us under their wing, showing us different experiences, and they don’t want us to have a day where we’re doing nothing.
“They’ll drop us a message and take us out, and I have made plenty of great mates.”
The biggest lesson both cricketers have learned is adapting to the pitches around the Maryborough District Cricket Association, with both saying that they’ve been more suited to batting than bowling.
Smith offered a fascinating viewpoint.
“At home at the start of the season from April to June, there are more bowling wickets that are very spongy and green, and then in the back half of the season, it dries out a bit,” he said.
“Coming out here, the wickets look like they do in the back end of our season. For me, being a batsman at the moment, it’s very helpful, and I feel very comfortable scoring runs on these wickets.”
Kingsbury agreed with Smith’s assessment.
“The pitches are a lot harder here. Back home, most pitches are bowling wickets, so it’s very easy to pick a length and the batsmen will get themselves out,” he said.
“Here, every wicket feels like a batting wicket, so we feel a lot more confident with the bat than back home. We just have to adapt to the conditions here, they are completely different.”
Another challenge is adapting to using the white ball, which is a bit more unfamiliar to Smith and Kingsbury compared to their league back home, as well as the ball brand, using a Kookaburra instead of England’s preferred Duke ball.
Having said that, both think there hasn’t been a great deal of difference either way.
“At home, we don’t play any white-ball games of cricket, so using the white ball has been a bit of a difference, but it hasn’t made too much of a difference. But the white ball moves around a little bit more,” Smith said.
“Our formats back home are that we play one-day the whole way through in a league format, and we play with the red ball the whole time. Playing with a white ball, I don’t notice much difference. When I bowl, I just enjoy adapting to however the ball is moving,” Kingsbury added.
Now, they’ll have the chance to make the biggest statement of them all in Saturday’s one-day decider.