“He was bowling like a wizard.”
The raw pace and skill of up-and-coming quick Tom Whitney left a strong impression on his Melbourne Stars teammates.
Whitney crossed to the Stars as a replacement player having played just two Big Bash League games with the Brisbane Heat last summer.
The 23-year-old Queenslander has produced a strong start to the Australian domestic summer, highlighted by selection in a Cricket Australia side against the England Lions last month.
In that match in Western Australia, Whitney removed both English openers on his way to 4-72.
The heavy-hitting Hilton Cartwright offered a humorous yet complimentary assessment of his effort against Whitney at training on Friday.
“Watching Tom Whitney for Queensland for the first half of the year and then facing him in the nets, it was diabolic for me,” Cartwright said, laughing at his own misfortune.
“It probably helps, because I am going to pump his tires up now, but he was bowling like a wizard to me.
“Watching him steam in and doing what he did out there, I was like, ‘This guy is young and he’s got some proper skill’.
“I hope he gets opportunity to play because while I was facing him I was like, ‘This is hard, this is seriously difficult and he’s only a young kid’
“He was bowling fast and swinging it, I think I only faced 12 balls but he got me out two or three times.
“If he can do any of that out on the field, he is going to perform really well.”
Whitney was one of the Stars’ two pick-ups from the Heat, having also signed experienced leg-spinner Mitch Swepson on a multi-year deal.
Cartwright says the group takes confidence out of knowing how difficult a player like Swepson is to navigate.
“When you first rock up, there’s always a huge amount of optimism in a group,” he said.
“It’s always nice having fresh faces but when you’ve got a young guy like Tom who has been performing well for Queensland and then a veteran like Mitch Swepson.
“I’ve played a lot of cricket against Mitch, that sort of fuels you knowing how tough it is against them to have them on your side.
“There’s definitely a sense of optimism … but there’s also a sense of pride knowing guys want to come and play for us as well.”
The Stars start their season against the reigning champions Hobart Hurricanes next Thursday at the MCG.
