FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 5
BARTON
bowler Jack Porter has made a huge impact Down Under after claiming 29 wickets
in just seven matches for new club Altona North.
Included in that incredible haul
are two hat-tricks in three games for the Victorian Turf Cricket Association
side.
Medium-pacer Porter, 21, decided
to head to Australia to further his cricketing education and link up again with
Altona North’s ex-pat skipper Lee Elmore.
Elmore, from Newton Abbot, knew
Porter during his time at Barton, and he’s looking after the youngster during
his season Down Under.
“I’d been getting abuse from home
when I first came over here because friends were saying I wouldn’t get wickets
here on the flat decks,” said Porter.
“They were saying that I wouldn’t
get too much out of it.”
After failing to claim a wicket
in his first game on Australian soil, Porter has taken the competition by
storm.
With an average of 10.83 with the
ball, he has already taken two six-wicket hauls and a five-wicket haul this
season.
It’s the two hat-tricks, though,
that really caught the eye.
“The first one came completely
out of the blue,” said Porter, who received Barton’s first-team bowling award
for his Devon League exploits in 2009.
“The second one came soon after
and, after the second wicket, I thought ‘I’ve half a chance here’.
“The second time around all the
boys were saying ‘you won’t do it again’. I put it up there, gave it half a
chance and the bloke played a ridiculous shot.
“He tried to flash at one outside
off stump and flicked it straight up. I just couldn’t believe it could happen
twice.”
After completing a mathematics
degree at Durham University, Porter is loving the Australian experience.
“All the guys are giving me lots
of help and spurring me on as much as they can,” he said.
“It’s been a great atmosphere.
They’ve really made me feel at home. I’m living with my captain and he’s pretty
much made this my home while I’ve been here.
“Everyone’s given me the best
chance possible to perform well, which I can’t thank them enough for to be
honest.
“I’m loving the weather, enjoying
the heat. It’s not too bad now that I’ve been here a while and have sort of
acclimatised to it. I still find it a bit sticky now and then.
“It couldn’t be more different
back at home.
“I’ve been on the phone to the
parents and they’ve been snowed in. Then there’s me here who can’t leave the
house because it’s 43 degrees.”
Elmore, meanwhile, has revealed
his surprise at just how quickly Porter has adapted to the batting-friendly
Australian pitches.
“He’s been fantastic since the time he joined us,”
said Elmore. “His bowling is always right on the money.
“It’s surprising that he’s been able to do all
this especially in senior cricket, in a good standard competition.
“He’s a medium-fast bowler and
you don’t often see medium bowlers tearing through teams in the fashion that he
has.”
Porter captained the Devon U21
side as they retained their Southern Counties title in 2009.
However he’s hoping the
experience of playing in Australia will help him in his quest to break into the
full Devon team when he returns to England.
“The goal when I get home is to
break into my county team,” Porter added.
“I’ve been on the fringe for the
past couple of years so I see it as my big year for breaking into it.
“I get home in March and will go
straight into the friendlies for Devon, which hopefully I’ll be selected for.
“While playing here I’ve set
myself the target of making 300 runs, and scoring a hundred was one of my big
targets.
“I’d like to score more runs but
it hasn’t really happened at the moment for me which has been a bit
frustrating. I’d like to get up to 40 wickets and 300 runs. That’s the main
goal.”