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Jack looms as Bulls great white Hopes

Young allrounder enjoyed a breakthrough season last summer and now has giant shoes to fill in Queensland

Queensland might have lost one of the most decorated players in their Sheffield Shield history, but they certainly can't be accused of sitting idle.

While James Hopes rides quietly off into the sunset – well, as far as the assistant coach's seat beside Bulls mentor Phil Jaques – another gifted allrounder has already been picking up the slack.

Jack David Wildermuth.

The Toowoomba-born Valleys product has cricket in the blood: his grandfather, Graham Bizzell, played 30 first-class matches for Queensland in the 1960s, while his "distant" great-uncle was Tom Veivers, who played 21 Tests for Australia from '63-67.

Wildermuth's grandfather passed away shortly before he played the first of his 10 first-class matches to date but the allrounder, who turned 23 this week, insists his influence lives on.

"I definitely took so much from him – all my cricket has come from him, from very young," Wildermuth told cricket.com.au.

"He lived up on the Sunshine Coast and we'd talk on the phone a lot.

"He passed on his passion for the game, taught me to always have respect for others, so that sort of mentality was just awesome."

The allrounder had a breakout year last season, playing eight Shield matches and making a maiden first-class hundred, as well as claiming 25 wickets with an innings best of 4-27.

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But his rapid rise hit a snag during the 2016 pre-season while training with the National Performance Squad at the Bupa National Cricket Centre in Brisbane.  

"I've been with NPS over the winter, doing fitness work, and I felt some nerve pain in my back," he said.

"I actually hadn't had any back issues until now, and it only came about because I was trying to change my action to hopefully prevent any future back issues. So it was pretty ironic.

"It was unfortunate, but my body is just so used to bowling the way I have been bowling, so I've tried it, it hasn't really worked, and now I'll go back to bowling how I had been bowling before."

For fast bowlers' standards, Wildermuth has been pretty lucky. He's already on the comeback trail, doing swimming, pilates and bowling off a few paces.

And over the past fortnight he's been playing as a batsman only for Queensland during their pre-season trial matches on the Sunshine Coast.

"I've been working on my batting quite a lot because I've had more time," he explained. "Plus I've been doing things that I probably haven't been able to do or really thought of doing, like the mental side of things; working with the psychologist.

"Little things like that have helped so that's been really good."

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Wildermuth only averaged 19 with the bat last year so he's well aware there's plenty of room for improvement, however he was understandably happy with his breakthrough summer for the Bulls, if a little disappointed the side couldn't go one step further and reach the final.

And in an impressive sign of maturity – and perhaps an indication that the Hopes influence has been rubbing off – he felt he could have been more influential at crucial times in his capacity as an allrounder.

"At the start of the season I definitely would have taken the year," said Wildermuth, who is studying sport, health and physical education in his spare time.

"It was pretty disappointing though not making the Shield final in the end – there were some situations where we really could have taken that chance.

"And as an allrounder, I feel like there's times when you can have a big part in changing the course of the game, so that was pretty disappointing."

While Hopes has disappeared from the playing XI, Wildermuth takes comfort in the fact that he's still with the squad.

And the young gun believes it won't be solely his responsibility to fill the void left by the 37-year-old.

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"He's assistant coach now and he's always been really good with advice and that sort of thing," he adds.

"He's someone I looked up to growing up, so I was very fortunate to get a year in playing with him in Shield cricket, and having him still around is great.

"We worked pretty well together in the same team, so (the transition from Hopes to Wildermuth) was kind of in the works there, but he leaves a massive hole to fill.

"But the good thing is we're at the stage where we've got a number of young guys and a good bowling group that can hopefully fill part of that hole.

"I don't really think about (replacing him) to be honest. He played for that long – you never even put yourself anywhere near the same level.

"I just try to do whatever I can for the team, and I know what I can do, and if that's all I can give then that's enough, I'll be satisfied."

Wildermuth is targeting the Shield season for his return as a full-time allrounder as it appears unlikely his bowling loads will be at the level for him to be considered for a Bulls one-day debut in the Matador Cup.

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However, he could again be considered for the CA XI – the development side that was included in the tournament in 2015 as part of a two-year experiment and for whom he played five matches.

"That was an eye-opening experience for sure – for all our boys," said Wildermuth, who made just 24 runs and took five wickets at 38 across his stint with the side.

"We came together pretty late going into that. There was a lot of raw talent on our team and we were playing against some of the best players in the world.

"I think we benefited from it in the end, and down the track we'll be better players for it.

"But it was pretty tough.

"I think all of us would rather be in our state sides, but it was a good experience and I definitely took some bits and pieces from it."

This time around, Wildermuth is striving to be selected for the side as a batsman only.

And beyond that, he has his heart set on a KFC Big Bash debut; he was in the Heat squad last summer but never played a match.

"If I'm not playing for the Bulls then CA XI as a bat would be awesome," he said. "I just want to get my bowling loads up so I can get into Shield cricket for the year and then hopefully the Big Bash – that's a big one for me.

"I'm pretty excited, hopefully I get a chance to get out there this year.

"It just gets bigger every season so it'd be great to play in front of those crowds – that's something I'm looking forward to."