I’ve only been here in Melbourne for a month, and I’m absolutely loving it. The club I’m at, Beaumaris, is amazing and have looked after me really well. I’ve certainly landed on my feet.
Cricket wise, we’ve only played two games in the Southern Bayside competition because of rain. We’ve won one and lost one.
We got a good win in my first game, against Mentone, though unfortunately I didn’t contribute with the bat. But we have a young team, and it was nice to see some of those lads contribute. One of them took a five-for on debut.
The game on Saturday just gone was a tricky affair away at Murrumbeena. The pitch was very attritional – low bounce and very UK, actually.
The ball didn’t get above knee-roll all day, and we played against a very experienced attack who knew how to bowl at their own ground.
Chasing 170 in 40 overs, we needed 34 off the last two. I hit 14 off the penultimate and then a four off the first ball of the last before getting caught at long-on.
Picture by Allan McKenzie/SWpix.com. Noah Kelly has had a weather-disrupted first month in Australia.
We just missed out on a few key moments in the game, losing a few quick wickets.
It was nice to contribute with the bat – I got 69 from number three – but frustrating I couldn’t getting us over the line.
In a weird way, it’s been quite beneficial to have a bit of rain around, with a couple of training sessions also cancelled.
To be able to spend some time with my new team-mates in the dressing room has helped me integrate into the group a lot better than I maybe would have if I’d have played those games straightaway.
When training’s been cancelled, we’ve gone into the club, had food and watched the England v Pakistan Test Matches. They were on at the right time for that over here.
We train twice a week on a Tuesday night and a Thursday night, and that’s something the club take very seriously, which is perfect for me as I look to develop this winter.
Picture courtesy of Beaumaris CC. Noah Kelly keeps wicket during the early stages of his stay in Melbourne.
Personally, I’ve also just joined up with the International Cricket Programme – an Academy for overseas players – and I’m training once a week with them on a Wednesday.
I also usually have a net on a Sunday afternoon as well with one of the lads from the club, just on a sidearm. So I’m netting three or four times a week and playing on a Saturday.
The International Cricket Programme is run by Ian Holland, the Leicestershire all-rounder, as head coach.
Harry Brook was on it a few years ago when he went to Sydney.
While I’m only there once a week with them, Jack Redshaw and Sabir Mahmood, who have played age-group and Academy cricket with Yorkshire over the last few years, are on that programme full-time, which I think is four days a week.
I haven’t caught up with Ben Cliff, Harry Duke and Will Luxton yet. They’re also playing club cricket in Melbourne. But I have spent a bit of time with Jack and also Luxy’s brother, Jack. It’s been nice to see a few Yorkshire faces.
Picture by Allan McKenzie/SWpix.com. Yorkshire fast bowler Ben Cliff is also in Melbourne this winter.
Myself, Cliffy, Dukey and Luxy are due to meet up for a day of fitness testing at one of the Institute of Sport facilities in Melbourne at the start of December. That’s been organised by Harry Booker (Yorkshire’s head of strength and conditioning).
I’ve been in regular contact with Yorkshire, through Tom Smith and Alex Donnelly, who like Harry is another of our s&c’s. They’re basically weekly catch-up calls. With Tom, it’s debriefing the games I’ve just played, with Alex any queries on the fitness programme they’ve given me to work on.
Beaumaris is a really beautiful area. It’s down the coast from Melbourne, and the houses around here are unbelievable.
I’ve been doing plenty of running down the beach road and looking at some of those nice houses.
One of them I saw, I think it was priced at $20m. But that might be ever so slightly out of my budget, I reckon.
As part of package when I signed here, I was given a membership to the local Beaumaris Tennis Club, which is a Centre of Excellence type facility. They have players there with ATP rankings.
Picture courtesy of Noah Kelly. Noah sporting his Driffield Town colours whilst on a beach road run in Beaumaris.
I’ve been playing quite a bit of tennis and pickleball in the evenings, which has been great.
I’m not so sure I will quite be breaking into the world’s top 100 come March time, though. You should see my backhand. It’s an absolute abomination.
On Tuesday, I’m going to the Melbourne Cup horse racing at Flemington. I have a ticket for that, which is a massive event out here. And one of our lads at Beaumaris actually owns a horse which is running.
It should be an amazing experience with the atmosphere and everything, but I couldn’t quite believe it when I was told that it’s a public holiday out here.
Basically, they have a day off to watch horse racing and have a bet. I’m not too sure how healthy that is, but there we are.
There’s obviously been a bit going on back at Headingley.
Picture by Harry Trump/Getty Images. New coach Anthony McGrath starts work at Yorkshire today.
I haven’t spoken to our new head coach, Anthony McGrath, yet. I’m sure he’s got a lot on his plate at the moment, so I will reach out in the next week or so.
He will add so much value to what is an exciting group of players that we have. He’s got so much experience, he’s done a great job with Essex, and he has the Yorkshire blood. I’m really looking forward to working with him.
Alex Wade and Jawad Akhtar, two lads I know very well, have both been awarded their maiden professional contracts, which is fantastic news. I’m so pleased for both of them, and they have great careers ahead.
Wadey is such an exciting cricketer.
He’s probably the hardest working teenager I know.
He had a stress fracture when he was 15 or 16, and the amount of effort he’s put in to get his back sorted since then has been unbelievable. He’s the classic case of first in and last out of the gym.
Picture by Allan McKenzie/SWpix.com. Alex Wade, like Noah Kelly, is a new pro in Yorkshire’s senior squad.
He’s such a genuine guy. Speaking to him, he’s certainly not the nasty fast bowler. But the skills he has, and with his pace, he’ll have a great career in white and red-ball cricket.
He’s very quick on you, and I’m so glad I don’t have to face him in the East Stand this winter. He’s brutal.
Jawad, we know each other inside out.
We played our first ever game for Yorkshire together when we were under 10s, and we’ve played together in every other Yorkshire age-group since then.
Again, he’s another who works so hard behind the scenes. He does a lot of work with Amar Rashid at the Adil Rashid Centre in Bradford. He’s down there most nights.
He just loves the game so much, and he is an incredibly smart cricketer as well. When he bowls, he works out batters very quickly.
Picture by YCCC. Jawad Akhtar, like Noah Kelly, is a new pro in Yorkshire’s senior squad.
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