WHEN Shae Donald watches Australian fast bowler Mitchell Starc tear towards the pitch with cricket ball in hand, he becomes inspired.
The 12-year-old Mandurah Baptist College student has harboured a love of cricket for as long as he can remember, starting off like most young enthusiasts with pick-up games in the backyard with his dad and brother.
As his skills grew he found himself playing alongside his brother at the Singleton Cricket Club before earning a place in the district cricket competition as part of Rockingham Mandurah’s U13 team.
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READ NOWSoon the young star will take the next step in his burgeoning career after earning a place in the 13-player WA team set to compete at the School Sport Australia Cricket Championships in November.
Considering himself a bowler, Shae has taken 32 wickets in his 37 game career for Singleton including best figures of five wickets for just 10 runs in the most recent season.
But he said he enjoyed every aspect of the game and was looking forward to competing at a national level.
“I like bowling, I like fielding and it’s always fun to go out to have a bat,” he said.
“I feel really happy that I’ve made the WA team and I want to do as well as I can so I can get into the WA 15s too.
“I think the team might do alright, we’ve got some really good bowlers and batters and personally I want to learn how to play better shots and get more wickets.”
The Cricket Championship is in Adelaide from November 17-24.