Nitschke nurtures talent at U19 champs

Southern Stars legend Shelley Nitschke has joined forces with retired fast bowler Ryan Harris to nurture some of Australia’s most talented young players at the ongoing Under-19 National Championships in Adelaide.

Nitschke, who has been lured out of retirement to play with the Adelaide Strikers in the Rebel Women’s Big Bash League this season, is assisting Harris with his Cricket Australia XI coaching duties during the two-week tournament.

The CA XI, selected from the best players at the recent Under-17 National Championships, is an important part of the Australia’s new cricket talent pathway.

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However, it is not only the junior players whose talents are being natured. Cricket Australia hopes the coaching role will play an important part in developing the mentoring skills of Nitschke and Harris.

"What we’re trying to do is ensure that our male and female coaching are working with both male and female cricket,” Cricket Australia team performance senior manager Belinda Clark told cricket.com.au.

"Part of this role is to extend Shelley’s coaching skills, but also because Ryan’s strong pace bowling skills are a good match for Shelley’s spin and batting skills.

"Hopefully she’ll learn a lot and players will learn a lot from her experience as a former international player.”

While Harris, who retired before the start of the Ashes series in England, is new to the coaching arena, Nitschke is no stranger to mentoring roles.

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Since her retirement from international and domestic cricket in 2011-12, the South Australian has been involved in a development role with the SACA and has also worked with the Commonwealth Bank Southern Stars, while her new playing role at the Adelaide Strikers will also be complemented by coaching duties.

"There’s a number of people starting to push through the coaching ranks,” Clark said.

"I’m really pleased with some of their work and we’ll continue to support and develop them.

"Part of that is giving opportunities to people like Shelley and making sure they’re linked in with national teams. There’s a whole range things starting to happen with linking female and male coaches."

Nitschke’s playing career featured no shortage of highlights.

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After making her Southern Stars debut in a one-day international against India in 2004, Nitschke played six Tests, 80 ODIs and 36 Twenty20s in a career that saw her named the ICC Women’s Player of the Year in 2010, while she earned the Australian Women's International Player of the Year award on four consecutive occasions.

Now, she’s enjoying her new challenge.

"I’ve coached the boys before, but not at that level and not that age so I’m looking forward to that,” Nitschke told cricket.com.au before the championships kicked off on November 30.

"It’s good to see a lot of ex-players staying involved with the game and that Cricket Australia is providing opportunities for people in different environments as well.”

After the Under-19 Championships wrap up on December 10, Nitschke’s full attention will be on the Adelaide Strikers, who begin their WBBL campaign against the Hobart Hurricanes in Launceston on December 12.

"It’s been going well,” Nitschke said of her comeback.

"The shorter game appealed to me and it’s fun good to be back around the group.

"I can offer something to them through a coaching role too, so I’ll be doing a little bit of on-field mentoring and I’ll work pretty closely with the spinners.

"We’ve got some good international recruits and quite a few young players, so it’ll be good to help the group out as much as I can."