The Brooks brothers are not adverse to slinging each other a bit of banter off the cricket pitch but Brayden, 19, admits he was pretty pleased to see his younger sibling Jaxon, 14, join him in first grade this month.
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Jaxon is believed to be the youngest Raymond Terrace District Cricket Club member to debut with the Lions' first grade side in the Maitland competition, which he did on January 16.
"It was really good experience," said Jaxon, the 818th person to debut for the Lions in first grade. "It was a lot faster than I was expecting but it was still great to get out there."
Brayden, who was the club's 799th player to make their first grade debut, said he was pretty happy when his younger brother got the call up.
"I hoped I got the opportunity to play with Jaxon in first grade," he said. "I'm pretty happy that I've been able to play alongside him in the same top level team."
While cricket competitions have not been as adversely affected by COVID-19 as other sports, restrictions and hesitation around travelling between cities has forced some experienced players out of the game, Brayden said.
This has led to a number of younger cricket players being called up to to the higher grades.
"There's a good lot of juniors from a number of clubs that we've seen make their debut this year and they're quality players," Brayden said. "The quality of players who will be coming through the top grades in the next few years is really exciting."
Halfway through the season with 10 games under their belts, the Terrace's first grade side sit at the bottom of the table. City United lead the competition.
In addition to making his first grade debut, last week Jaxon was part of the Hunter Valley under-15 representative squad that won a four day carnival hosted by Raymond Terrace at King Park Sporting Complex.
Made up of mostly Maitland district junior cricketers, Hunter Valley's side won each of their pool games against Hawkesbury, Newcastle and North Coast to face Mid North Coast in the grand final on January 21.
The Hunter Valley side dismissed Mid North Coast for 109. The side won the toss and batted first, putting on a decent 169 off 50 overs.
Jaxon was was named most valuable player in two of the side's four games during the Hunter Valley Junior Cricket Council's under-15 carnival.
The Lions face Kurri Kurri at home on Saturday from noon.
Ellie-Marie Watts
A journalist with 10 years experience, Ellie-Marie connects readers to the stories that matter in their communities. A Port Stephens-based news, sport and event writer and photographer with a passion for human interest features.
A journalist with 10 years experience, Ellie-Marie connects readers to the stories that matter in their communities. A Port Stephens-based news, sport and event writer and photographer with a passion for human interest features.
