TRAVIS A BRIGHT LIGHT FOR BREADY

It hasn’t been the best of seasons so far for Bready, but one bright note has been the emergence of Travis Faulkner, who took four wickets in the loss to Brigade, and also made his debut for the Emerging Warriors.

“Travis is a quiet lad who’s willing to listen and seems very capable of doing what’s asked of him when bowling,” said Bready Head Coach Mark Olphert.

“He doesn’t seem fazed by whom he bowls at. He has an exciting future if he continues to progress,”

Those views were echoed by Niall McDonnell, who is Head of Cricket with Strabane Academy, which the 16-year-old attends.

“Travis is an absolutely cracking kid and someone who has really kicked on in the last year or two. That’s even with suffering a serious knee injury trampolining, where he shattered his patella. The way he has come back so strongly from that is commendable.

“There’s an obvious athletic potential to Travis that has emerged in the past year or so. The fact that he’s a left-armer is a real attribute. He has a fantastic attitude and a real willingness to learn. He’s a grounded, well-mannered young man, who looks for advice and is so personable.

“It’s refreshing that he has maintained an almost child-like enthusiasm for the game, just wanting to play with his friends at every opportunity. He treats triumph and adversity in the same fashion, never boastful when he does well or too downbeat when things go badly. He doesn’t suffer any lasting effects from knockbacks. As Gary Neville says, “failure is a bruise, not a tattoo.”

“I really hope Travis and the others in the team can be the start of a production line for the school and the Warriors. I do think it’s important for more locals to be involved in that set-up as was the case in the past.”