Clive Rose will be taking his left-arm orthodox spinning act to Malaysia and Pakistan this year after being selected in the Australian under-19 team.By Marc McGowan
NARRE Warren South cricket prodigy Clive Rose will represent Australia for the first time when he tours Malaysia and Pakistan with the under-19 team in September and October respectively.
Rose, 17, will hook up with his team-mates and coaches three days before the tour at the Cricket Australia Centre of Excellence in Queensland before playing two one-day encounters against Malaysia and another five versus Pakistan.
The left-arm orthodox spinner played for Victoria at the national championships in Brisbane – once in the under-15s and twice at under-17 level – in January.
Rose was also elevated to the Australian under-18 training squad in the same month, but his latest accolade is his highest yet.
“I was quite surprised because I forgot they were actually picking a team to go,” the Casey-South Melbourne star said.
“It’s always been my dream and goal to play for Australia.
“My career is on track but I still have to work hard and it’s not just a straight road for me because I still have to improve.”
Rose is working hard on his batting at the moment, which he hopes will help him develop into a quality all-rounder and allow him to bat in the middle order.
“I haven’t done much until about five weeks ago when (the Victorian Youth Academy, which has taken over from the Victorian Institute of Sport cricket program) started training,” the year 12 student at St Bede’s in Mentone said.
“There has been a big focus on batting, and this season I hope to get a few runs under my belt and be able to score 30s and 40s every game.”
Progress in Rose’s bowling will be of prime importance too, and after a surprise clinic on Monday with Shane Warne’s former mentor Terry Jenner, opposition batsmen will see a new style from the talented teenager.
“I was lucky enough to meet Terry Jenner, and he was saying I should slow down a bit and try to turn the ball more,” Rose said.
“It was at the MCG and we did a spin clinic for a few of us and I normally would have had training with the Victorian Youth Academy anyway.”
It will certainly come in handy for the overseas trips to the subcontinent, where Rose will relish the spin-friendly conditions.
“It will be different because I haven’t been to Pakistan or anything, so it will be different bowling on their pitches,” he said.
Rose is also making the under-19 national championships in December a focal point in 2007, with the International Cricket Council under-19 World Cup being staged in Malaysia in February next year.
“Getting into the under-19 Victorian team will be a pretty big goal this year,” he said.
“They’ll be picking the World Cup side from those championships, so it’s pretty important.”
On the Casey-South Melbourne front, Rose is looking forward to working with new head coach John Hayes, and he praised the former assistant coach’s appointment.
“I think it will be a good experience, better for the club, and a lot more organised than the last couple of years I’ve been there (when that role was filled by Englishman Roger Sillence),” Rose said.
