KILMORE Cricket Club wunderkind Josh Buttler has been named the A Grade captain-coach at the tender age of 22.
Buttler takes over from wicketkeeper Matt Rose, who captained the side to a semi-final loss to eventual premier Tallarook.
The all-rounder has a strong connection to the club, with his father Brett Buttler still playing A Grade alongside him, and uncles having previously played for the club.
Buttler started with the club playing Milo cricket, before playing under 14s under Simon O’Donnell, making his senior debut as an under-14 and winning a C Grade premiership alongside his father.
He made his First XI debut while still playing under 16s, cementing a place in the top side not long after and being granted more responsibility every year.
Buttler also serves as the club’s co-treasurer with club legend Lawrie Boyd.
“It’s always been a life goal of mine to be the captain-coach of Kilmore so to achieve that, I’m rapt to get the job,” Buttler said.
“It’s a little bit of a shock. I thought [my age] might hold me back but I was rapt when the selection committee felt I was ready to take on the job.”
Naturally, Buttler’s goal is to take Kilmore to an SDCA A Grade premiership and to build all three grades into competitive sides.
“I feel like we’ve got a pretty good list in terms of A Grade,” he said.
“Towards the end of the year, we convincingly knocked off Yea and gave Tallarook a bit of a scare so I feel like we’re right there, and hopefully we can get a few handy inclusions which will strengthen the B and C grades as well.
“We’ve got a mix of older talent and some exciting young kids coming through which will create some healthy competition for spots in all grades.”
Buttler hopes to improve on last year’s result by helping the team find some consistency.
“Our best is good enough, our batting lineup is probably the deepest in the comp where our whole 11 can hold the stick and make big runs so it’s just finding the consistency and simplifying players’ roles,” he said.
