"He got out on me," Adam McGuirk joked.
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The promising Gunnedah batsman, 17, was referring to Australian quick Josh Hazlewood, after he was caught behind for 39 early on day two of Old Boys' clash against City United at No 1 Oval in March.
McGuirk was batting with Hazlewood, for Old Boys, at the time - having joined him on day one the previous Saturday.
The teen was eventually run out for 82, the top score of a match that Old Boys dominated, but of course he would have loved the chance to spend more time in the middle with Hazlewood, who grew up in Bendemeer.
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Still, Hazlewood's one-off appearance for his former club left an indelible mark on McGuirk as he prepares to launch his 2019/20 season in the three-day Central North under-18 trial in Tamworth, starting Saturday.
He will attempt to elevate his game further, on the cusp of turning 18, entering year 12 and playing his second season for reigning premiers Old Boys.
"He was good to talk to," McGuirk said of Hazlewood. "And he sort of just, like, had a calm ... a calm mood about him ... He was just calm in the heat of the moment, just real relaxed."
Last season was the biggest of McGuirk's young career. The highlights included him debuting for Old Boys and averaging 40.8 for the season; making his Central North under-18 debut at the Country Championships; scoring 205 not out as Gunnedah High beat Farrer in the Davidson Shield North West final; and playing for NSW Combined High Schools on a 23-day UK tour.
It was his first overseas tour, and the first time he had gone overseas without his close-knit, cricket-mad family, which includes one of the state's best young female cricketers, Claire, dad Eddie, the newly appointed coach of Central North Cricket's Northern Inland Namoi region, and mum Kath, the biggest cheerleader of Adam and Claire's careers.
McGuirk, who will vice-captain Central North Red this long weekend, was a sponge on the UK tour.
"It was pretty good," he said of the experience. "And you met new people, and got different people's views on the game and stuff like that.
"Like, we went and played in some old towns, and you spoke to some of the old fellas, and you went back and had your coke in the pub with 'em."
In July, McGuirk turns 18 and can legally consume alcohol. He said he was "not much of a drinker", and is mindful that countless promising sports career have been derailed by too much partying.
While he is reluctant to talk too much about his cricket goals, preferring to stay in the moment, seemingly, and graft away, he gives no indication of not wanting to keep cricket at the forefront of his life.
Another highly touted Gunnedah teen, Kaleb McIlveen, will captain Central North Navy in the under-18 trial.
