Footscray Edgewater opening bowler Hamish Winter-Irving has transformed his summer.
The Bulldogs paceman has been in stellar form since the start of December, with 15 wickets in his past four games.
When interstate recruit Jake Haberfield returned to Tea Tree Gully, in his hometown of Adelaide, after two summers with the Dogs, it left a massive void in the line-up.
Winter-Irving felt he could upgrade his own role to help cover Haberfield’s exit.
But he momentarily lost sight of what made him a top-line Premier Cricket bowler – one that saw him win the 2013-14 premiership with the Bulldogs – and he endured a slow start to the campaign.
“Obviously someone had to sort of take [Haberfield’s] role but I probably tried to overbowl,” Winter-Irving told Star Weekly.
“Now I think it’s more about … bowling from one end and trying to make the batters play a bit more.
“The last couple of weeks has been good. I’ve hit a bit of form.”
Winter-Irving turned for advice to club legend Merv Hughes, a former Bulldogs, Victorian and Australian champion who has always been willing to provide help for young fast bowlers at the kennel.
Winter-Irving sees him as a mentor.
“He’s a ripping fella, a fantastic bloke to have around the club,” Winter-Irving said.
“We have a lot of young kids at the club, so to have him around is really good.
“I pick his brain for anything. He’s always got an answer for you and he’ll always tell you the truth, which is really good.”
Bulldogs coach Steve Chapman sees great potential in Winter-Irving, while captain Dean Russ backs every single one of his players.
“Chappy’s been helping me out and noticed a couple of things I can work on,” Winter-Irving said.
“Russy is one of the best captains I’ve played under.
“When things aren’t going right, he’ll back you to the hilt.”
Winter-Irving is a household name at Footscray Edgewater, even at the age of 22.
It was not an easy transition for him from the country lifestyle in Shepparton to the big smoke of Melbourne.
His first two seasons were spent commuting from his home town to the city for training and on match days, but that was unsustainable.
“You need to move down, then you can fully commit,” Winter-Irving said.
“I had to make the move, to be able to train two nights a week and make it easy on myself and not having to drive on a Saturday morning.
“It’s been a good decision. I love the club.”
Winter-Irving works as a curator at Bill Lawry Oval, home of Northcote Cricket Club.
“It helps my game a bit as well,” he said.
“I look at the wickets at different grounds and can kind of tell how they’re going to play.”
Winter-Irving’s ultimate goal is to be selected to play for Victoria and he draws inspiration from teammate Travis Dean, who took the Sheffield Shield by storm earlier this summer.
“I still have a lot of cricket ahead, so I’d love to win another flag for the Dogs,” he said.
“The next step would be to try to get a game for the [Victorian] Futures League team.
“I think it’s everyone’s dream when you start off as a junior cricketer.
“Travvy Dean has done it and just look at him. He has taken every opportunity and shown everyone what he can do.”
