GAVIN GEARED UP FOR SUCCESS

There was a first senior hundred at the weekend for Bready’s talented teenage opener Gavin Roulston, who shared an opening stand of 177 with Ryan Clarke as the Magheramason side posted a 50-run win over Ardmore.

“To get my first senior hundred was very pleasing,” said Roulston. “Throughout the season I’d scored several half centuries but didn’t kick on and turn any of them into hundreds so to do it on Saturday was great. 

“I think on a personal note my season has gone well. At club level I passed the 600 runs mark at the weekend so with two league games left I’m hoping to finish strongly. It has also been nice to make my senior interprovincial debut with the Warriors and to score a couple of 50s in my first few games has also been personally satisfying.

“I also made my debut for the Emerging Ireland squad against the West Indies Academy, which was very exciting and it has whetted my appetite to gain further honours.”

While it has been a good season for Roulston on a personal level, Bready have struggled at times with their consistency, reflected in their mid-table position.

“I think overall we have to be disappointed how our season at Bready has gone, it looks like we are going to finish mid-table and to exit the Senior Cup to Eglinton in the quarter- finals was very disappointing considering the position we were in at the half way stage. But we’re still a young side with not a lot of experience so it’s more of a case of bleeding through youngsters and giving them the chance to develop over silverware at the minute.”

The 18-year-old who has just completed his A-levels, and is heading Down Under for the winter.

“I’m off to Australia to play cricket in September. I’m really looking forward to getting out there and experiencing playing cricket in different conditions and I’m sure it will help develop my game overall. I’d be thinking about it for a while. I signed up to Cricx which is an agency that sorts you out with a club,  I got a quite a few offers but after speaking to the clubs I decided to join Western Park cricket club which is based in a town called Warragul about two hours outside Melbourne

“Next season it’s just a matter of keeping working hard at my game and hopefully a season in Australia will benefit my game. I will just try my best to keep scoring runs and my ambitions are to gain more honours at the highest possible level I can.”