Young gun back for WA colts

Dalyellup Beach paceman Adam Bilston has been named in the WA Country Colts XI for the second consecutive year.

The 17-year-old played three games for the Country Colts last year and has been rewarded for a standout schoolboy season with reselection to the State’s representative under 21 team.

“I only played a handful of games last year so I’m hoping to consolidate my spot this time around and get a few more matches under my belt,” he said.

“It’s a pretty big step up in talent and there are a lot of classy players, so you have to smarter about the way you play your game.”

Bilston credits much of his success to the Dalyellup College Specialist Cricket Program, of which he is an inaugural graduate.

“The program has provided so many opportunities and it is extra time every day during the week you get to spend training and working on your skills and developing as a player,” he said.

“The carnivals you play in and the chances you get are far and away better than anything you would be exposed to otherwise.”

Bilston co-captained a squad of 15 Dalyellup College students which travelled to the subcontinent for a tour of Sri Lanka earlier this year and made a remarkable 470 runs in just 10 outings.

“In Sri Lanka I went past 50 five times and in my last game I got 99 not out,” he said.

“It would have been a hundred too, but we needed one run to win and the bowler sent down a wide.”