Jay Lavis: Hopefield youngster named in Cricket NSW U17 country pathway squad

Lavis, who plays his club cricket for Corowa, is one of three Riverina players to have made the squad of 21 and will now travel to Sydney to join up with young cricketers from Newcastle, Illawarra and Central Coast as well as the northern and western parts of the state.

It's taken plenty of hard work to get Lavis to this point but he was quick to deflect the praise to others.

"It's pretty exciting," Lavis said.

"Dylan (Weeding) and Soc (Sam O'Connor), my coaches from all the rep stuff, have gone through the program and JT (Jack Thomas), my senior coach at Corowa, they've helped me a lot.

"Last season was really good. We went away to Griffith to play in the Colston/Scammell Shield, we won the whole carnival there and my club cricket's been real good too."

Lavis was a regular member of Corowa's first-grade side in Cricket Albury-Wodonga's star-studded provincial competition.

"I had a lot on my back but it was good to play with some older blokes and get experience from it," Lavis said.

"Playing at that standard tested me a fair bit, bowling to better batters and knowing where you're going to bowl.

"I learnt a lot from my new coach, he had my back a lot of the time and didn't let me get down if I got hit for a lot of runs.

"He helped me up and that made me feel more confident as a bowler and a batter too."

Lavis made 69 for CAW Country against Northern Riverina in Griffith and made huge strides with his bowling across the season.

"Our first game against East Albury wasn't much of a game for us but they were cruising and then Jay came on and bent his back and had a really good crack," Thomas said.

"He just gives it a really good go and doesn't leave anything behind.

"He's really relaxed and some people might take that a bit differently but he's a good kid with plenty of potential and, at times, he was bowling sharp spells, one of the sharpest in the team.

"He probably didn't get the rewards, and that can happen at his sort of age, but he's got no fear with the bat, he'll play his shots.

"He's a good all-round cricketer: bats, bowls and he's a good fielder.

"He's very talented and we're fortunate to have him.

"It's his attitude which stands out as much as anything. He's out on the farm and he's got a good family so I'd say they've got some pretty good values.

"He's a pretty strong individual and nothing really fazes him."

Lavis' parents, Doug and Julie, were thrilled by the news of his inclusion in the squad.

"Jay can be quite casual at times when it comes to his ability and how he does things so this was honestly quite a surprise," Julie said.

"He goes into it wanting to always achieve his best and to get something like this is an acknowledgement of his hard work and his dedication and passion towards it.

"We've always had the belief that if you go in with the right attitude and have a go, anything can happen.

"Sport is everything for Jay. He's been fortunate to always have some great people around him and it's always been that involvement in country sport.

"You're not just a number; everyone means something.

"He's had some amazing support from the cricket club and 'Soc' and Dylan at Cricket Albury-Wodonga; those blokes have always been really invested and that's helped to drive him as well."

Lavis, who took 11 wickets and scored 103 runs for Riverina in the Bradman Cup, is also impressing on the football field as a midfielder for Corowa-Rutherglen.

"I just love being active and staying healthy," he said.

"Doing this pathway will teach me a lot of things I can bring back to the club."

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