18 Year Old Forster Settling in on Ilkley Soil

Forster confidently sweeps Otley's Billy Hyde in the season's opening fixture.

Ilkley Cricket Club welcomed young Oscar with Open arms after his 10,000 mile flight from his home in Adelaide back in April.

The youngster has taken a break from education to give himself the opportunity to play cricket on the opposite side of the world. 

As the game of cricket continues to evolve and formats of the game are ever-changing, so too do the players.

Behind the sticks at 18 years old and standing tall at 6ft 3in gives our young Aussie a daunting presence over the opposition batsmen. 

In the opening fixture of the 2018 season against Otley, Oscar laid claim to his first victim on English soil with the stumping of former ICC opening batsman, Jono Hughes, from a ball that turned square off the bowling of Will Lennard.

With 4 victims from his first 4 games, Oscar looks set to make his mark on the English game as the season progresses. 

Oscar follows in the footsteps of Harry Nielsen and Ben Pengelley, two former Ilkley CC Australian overseas players, who both returned to Australia to play alongside some of the biggest names in Australian cricket as their cricketing careers continue to develop. 

The young talent has been heavily involved in the coaching setup at Ilkley CC despite his short time in the country, helping kids as young as 7 to develop their wicket keeping and general cricketing skills.

During his time in Europe, Oscar will pay a visit to some of Europe's top cities as part of his travelling experience before his return home in September. 

We look forward to an exciting season with the young Aussie behind the sticks and staking his claim at the top of the order.

#ICCTWD

Photos by John Heald Photography.
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