Darcy Giltrow follows brother’s footsteps in selection for WA country XI as juniors prepare for country week

While the Geraldton cricket league is on a break, plenty of stars will still be on show in various country and State tournaments, with the youngsters up first when junior country week starts on Monday. One player to keep an eye on will be Darcy Giltrow, with the young wicketkeeper-batter selected in the Under-15s State Country XI on the back of strong performances for the Mid West side at the Under-14s Regional Development Carnival in October last year. The side is currently in action at the WA Under-15s talent carnival and was off to a strong start by top-scoring with 37 in his team’s successful chase of 139, as well as a stumping and two runouts in their opening game on Tuesday. He made 11 moving up to open in their second game but the side went down in its second game unable to defend 174. Darcy has represented Towns across A and B grades this season, along with playing in the junior association for Geraldton White while also playing for Mt Lawley in Perth and representative commitments. It’s a busy schedule but Darcy has a simple solution to keep on top of all the travel time. “I just sleep most of the time,” he said. It is the first time Darcy has been selected in a State side but he is not the first in his family, with his brother Kodi achieving the feat a couple of years ago. “It feels very very nice to be selected; my brother has done it before, so to be able to follow him feels nice,” he said. The competition between the two brothers is fierce and has often brought out the best in each other, with Darcy having high hopes for the competition. “I bat higher than Kodi so hopefully I’ll make a few more runs than him; I’m definitely the better player,” he said in jest. Darcy started as an all-rounder but has since settled into the wicketkeeper-batter role, taking inspiration from Matthew Wade. “I like to be aggressive and sticking it out at the crease, hopefully I can keep making these squads and see where it leads and hopefully it will all come together eventually,” he said. His father Kris is proud of what both of his sons have achieved. “It’s a great honour to get selected for something like that and something we’ve been to before with Kodi,” he said. “There’s a healthy sibling rivalry there and I think Darcy has a lot to thank Kodi for and vice versa.” Junior country week starts on January 9, with Geraldton set to take on Cricket North-West in their opening fixture. Geraldton will be hoping to improve on their fifth-place finish at last year’s tournament.