Keath committed to cricket over footy

Cut from Victoria’s 2015-16 contract list, multi-talented 23-year-old Alex Keath is said to be nonetheless determined to pursue his cricket dreams, despite reported overtures from a host of Australian Football League (AFL) clubs.

Keath debuted in first-class cricket in December 2010, having chosen the summer sport as a career path over an offer from the then fledgling AFL club Gold Coast Suns.

Fairfax today reported that up to 14 AFL clubs have kept in some form of contact with the 196cm allrounder, with many of those expected to ramp up interest in the coming weeks.

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But Cricket Victoria operations manager Shaun Graf said Keath, who is currently playing league cricket in the UK, isn’t about to switch allegiances.

“My discussions with Alex strongly suggest he will remain dedicated to his cricketing dream,” Graf told News Ltd.

“He is a single-minded young man who wants to make it in cricket.

“He is the sort of kid you would expect to make a second coming and everyone who knows him hopes that is the case because he is such a good lad.”

Keath was also a member of the Melbourne Stars BBL|04 squad, appearing twice in the starting XI in January, and while the perennial semi-finalists have added Australia captain Michael Clarke to their books for next season, they are unlikely to finalise a squad until late November, leaving his fate in that form of the game up in the air at this stage.

The allrounder has played seven first-class matches, 16 List A matches and five Twenty20 matches in what has been a stop-start career to date.