Left and above: After a side injury restricted his impact with the ball last season, Berwick all-rounder Alex Roberts has torn DDCA line-ups apart with both skills this year.By Marc McGowan
BERWICK’S English cricket star Alex Roberts is on a one-man mission this season.
The right-handed top-order batsman and medium bowler’s first priority is to avenge the Bears’ defeat in this year’s Dandenong District Cricket Association Turf One decider.
But an extremely close second comes his individual pursuit – to smash Buckley Ridges batsman Jude Fernando’s 1995-96 Turf One home-and-away runs record of 647 runs.
Roberts, 24, cracked 622 runs before the finals last season, so he is eager to claim the record.
And the affable all-rounder is well on his way to doing just that, averaging 127.3 per innings to have 382 runs already in the bank, with more than half of the season to go.
After recording just one century in 2006-07 – he was out twice in the 90s – Roberts has plundered innings of 158 not-out and 109 in the first five rounds of 2007-08.
On top of his impressive batting feats, Roberts has taken 16 wickets at 9.3 – and the side injury that restricted him to just 28.3 overs last season is nowhere to be seen.
It comes after a brilliant English summer, where, playing for Cumberland, he registered the best bowling average in the minor county competition.
That performance earned Roberts a short-term contract with major county side Essex next year and a continuation of his stunning form could see it become a permanent arrangement.
Star Bears teammate Ash Henry, who Roberts replaced as captain in round two, revealed that he was in awe of the Englishman.
“It’s exciting (to play with him). He takes your breath away; he’s pretty special,” Henry said.
“Especially with the captaincy after round-one, he’s clicked up another gear. I’m wondering how many gears he has – he’s got about five at the moment!”
Roberts, who is living in Narre Warren with Berwick Turf Two opening bowler Jarrod Goodes, is just pleased that he has been able to display his full arsenal this year.
“Last year was a bit difficult being an all-rounder,” he said.
“I like to be involved in the game all the time and to suddenly just be able to bat, it’s like having half of your game taken away, which is not easy to handle.”
As with any aspiring sportsman, Roberts hopes to represent his country, but understands there is much hard work to do to reach that lofty aim.
“Playing for England is a long-term goal. If you don’t have ambition, you don’t go anywhere, but I need to do well with Essex first and then kick on from there,” he said.
“The contract with Essex is massive, especially at this stage of my career. I’ve just turned 24 and I’ve been out of first-class level for a couple of years – this is a big opportunity.”
A two-year stint with Durham ended in 2004, where he only played seconds cricket.
It wrapped up a huge few years for Roberts, which included selection in England’s under-19 squad for the 2002 World Cup in New Zealand.
Now he has worked his way back to the top flight, Roberts is working as hard as ever to stay there.
“There is always room for improvement. I’m trying to work on my technique and playing as straight as possible and being more patient,” he said.
“I’m also working quite hard in the gym to improve my core and body strength.”
