Tara Murray
Footscray’s Dylan Brasher headed back up to Darwin for a second straight off season in the hunt of runs.
After a Victorian Premier Cricket season that didn’t live up to his expectations, Brasher was keen to get out and hit some more balls.
“I came up here last year and played in the Strike league,” he said. “My teammate Jake Reed was coming up to coach the Darwin Cricket Club.
“He said ‘did I want to come and play’ and I said no worries. It’ll be good to have a season before heading back home.”
Brasher said he did consider heading over to England to play cricket this off season, but decided with COVID-19 remaining in Australia was a better idea.
The move has paid off with Brasher starring with the bat.
Brasher is playing in the Premier grade competition with Darwin, while playing with the City Cyclones in the Strike League.
He has made four 100s and is averaging 46.87 across both formats with a top score of 195.
Brasher said it was nice to get out there and make a few runs.
“It’s amazing up here,” he said. “It’s warm up here and the people you meet along the way are good too.
“One of the things I wanted to do after not having the best year back home with Footscray was to play some consistent cricket and make making runs a habit.
“The training is hard as well. It’s nice to score some runs.”
Brasher said while the standard of cricket wasn’t as high as back home, there were plenty of players in similar situations to him.
There’s a number of players with state contracts, while others like Brasher are pushing for that next level.
One thing that has been good for Brasher has been the ability to play red ball cricket again. The last two premier cricket seasons have been one-dayers only.
“It was weird seeing a red ball again,” he said.
As well as making runs Brasher has taken on some leadership roles, including captaincy.
He said that was something he wanted to bring back to Footscray.
The Taylors Lakes junior also has another focus this season.
“The competition isn’t as strong as back home, but it’s the only cricket at this time of year,” he said.
“That was one of the main reasons I came up here. Anyone watching is a good thing.
“I want to play for the Victorian 2nd XI this year. I was hoping to play some last year, but it didn’t happen.
“Hopefully I can have a crack at it and who knows from there. Things can happen quickly.”
Brasher won’t have long to rest between seasons. He said if they weren’t to make the grand final in Darwin, he would only be home for a couple of weeks.
If he keeps making runs, it’s not a bad thing.
