Wanderers Return

THE parents of Aberdeen’s Edan Tickle and Jake Duffin are excited to have their sun tanned boys home after an experience of a lifetime touring the West Indies and America with the Wanderers cricket team.

Proud mums Gemma Duffin (left) and Fiona Tickle home again with their boys Edan Tickle (left) and Jake Duffin.

The young Australian team won three of the seven games and watched Australia win against the West Indies in the Tri Series match.

Edan said he respected the skills of the West Indies players.

“One of the sixes someone hit was the biggest I have ever seen, they just attack,” Edan Tickle said.

While there was plenty of cricket there was also time for some sight seeing.

“On the way home we played one game in America against South California and then we went to Disneyland” said Edan Tickle.

Edan feels he as returned a better player and his mum hopes they can share their experiences with other young cricket players in Aberdeen.

“The manager and the coach were really good,” Fiona Tickle said.

“The pitches were quite hard in the West Indies with rocks and dirt making up most of the area, not like their local Aberdeen pitch,” she said.

“It helps our boys appreciate what they have and understand why their opponents get so good when they are brought up with that” said Mrs Tickle.

Edan and Jake have travelled before with the Wanderers to England and France, but the West Indies was a whole other experience.

“It was great to meet new people and the people over there are really warm-hearted, they didn’t say anything bad about anything, they were just really chilled and laid back,” Jake Duffin said.

For Edan the local West Indies experience is not like what we can get here.

“My favourite part was going down the street in the bongo buses” Edan Tickle said.

Edan and Jake both expressed their gratitude for their chaperones for the trip Dave Hanley and Brett Cranfield.

Nathan Connor of Muswellbrook also went on the trip with the Hunter Valley making up three of the eleven national team members.