Two years ago in Mexico the Australian U23 World Cup team came from nowhere to shock the world, claiming a silver medal and knocking off powerhouse nations Chinese Taipei, Panama and Korea in the process.
The 2018 edition of the U23 World Cup begins early tomorrow morning in Colombia as Australia matches up with Venezuela and manager Tony Harris sees this clash as pivotal to the team’s success.
“We have a versatile pitching staff, and we’re going to throw everything at Venezuela if we have an opportunity to win,” Harris said.
Australia has six players returning from their silver medal in 2016, including Zac Shepherd and Sam Kennelly. Those returning will need to pick up where the likes of Jacob Younis and Connor MacDonald left off.
Younis starred for Australia in 2016, as the infielder hit .563, while MacDonald crunched four homers and drove in a team-high 14 runs.
“Having six guys back on the club from our 2016 silver is critical to our success,” Harris said.
“Their leadership and experience instills belief in our entire group. We’ve been there before and we know we’re good enough to succeed.”
Those six returnees are accompanied by players with international and professional experience, with a number of U23 World Cup rookies impressing Harris in Bradenton.
“Jack Barrie has impressed me with his understanding of the game and his skill level,” he said.
“We’ve got a number of professional prospects coming off their first year in the US, guys like Robbie Glendinning, Alex Hall, Jess Williams and Mitch Edwards will add plenty to the club.”
The group spent the past week preparing for the World Cup at Pirate City in Bradenton, Florida, with the emphasis on individual and team orientated training.
“The preparation in Bradenton was excellent," he said.
"It’s rare for one team to have the entire facility to themselves, so we were able to focus on a number of different areas including recovery, nutrition and physical development.”
“There were different individual objectives, but the main focus was coming together as a club both on and off the field. We had some fantastic opportunities to delve into the mental side of the game.”
All five of Australia’s opening round games will be shown live on the WBSC YouTube Channel, with game one kicking off at 2am AEDT against Venezuela.