Noah Quick is Alfreton Cricket Club's latest signing

Alfreton Cricket Club sign Quick

Posted by: James Fletcher

Wed 3rd May 2023

Alfreton Cricket have announced their overseas player for the 2023 season in the shape of Noah Quick.

We asked his club mate, Tom, from East Belmont Cricket on what the club can expect from Noah.

“ Soon to be making his way from East Belmont in Geelong, Victoria to Alfreton in Derbyshire, England, is 21-year-old seam bowler Noah Quick!

A passionate and hardworking player, Noah has been in love with the game of cricket since he was old enough to walk and talk, having grown up at the club where his father Peter was a 1st XI captain, two-time premiership player, one-time premiership coach, Best and Fairest medal winner and a club Life Member. In his heyday, Peter also represented Victoria at state 2nd XI level, while he was a member of an Australian Country XI which took on a touring West Indies team during the ‘90s.

Despite his father’s imposing legacy as one of the greatest fast bowlers ever to play in the Geelong Cricket Association, Noah has had no trouble in forging his own path, showing great promise throughout his junior cricket and making his senior debut at the age of just 13. Since then, he has racked up 106 senior games, while scoring 505 runs and taking 88 wickets. Throughout that time, he has constantly pushed himself to new heights while striving to achieve his maximum potential.

Playing in Division 1 of the Geelong Cricket Association; widely considered to be the pre-eminent country cricket league in Victoria, East Belmont’s young players are well accustomed to having to earn their stripes before gaining the opportunity to compete at the highest level. After a few years honing his craft in the lower grades, Noah won his first selection in the turf 2nd XI at the age of 16. He acquitted himself well, but a combination of fitness related issues would frustratingly prevent him from making further progress over the next couple of years.

Read more: Plan for new bowling pavilion at Somercotes Park gets go-ahead

Multiple reoccurrences of a persistent side strain injury served not only to hamper his continuity, but to prevent him from bowling at his full capacity during what was a prolonged recovery. During that time, a number of Noah’s peer group were able to push ahead of him in the pecking order, and while he continued to grow in maturity and cricketing nous, further appearances at turf level proved elusive.

Frustrated by his lack of progress and his unfulfilled ambition to play at a higher level, Noah realised it was up to him to overcome the one thing holding him back – his own body. Embarking on a gruelling off-season fitness regime, which saw him spend countless early morning hours in the gym over winter, Noah worked tirelessly with a personal trainer to improve his strength and physical conditioning. While others were putting their feet up on the couch during their break from cricket, Noah never lost sight of his goals, putting in the hard yards to give himself the best possible chance to perform at his best come summer.

The off-season grunt work paid immediate dividends and Noah launched into pre-season training with the sense that he could finally trust his body to hold up to the rigours of sustained fast bowling. He found himself able to hit the deck harder and bowl faster for longer, and it was evident to many that he was set for a breakout summer.

Earning selection in the 2nd XI for Round 1, he grabbed his opportunity with both hands and soon cemented his spot in the team. Capturing 20 wickets for the season at an average of 20.15, Noah was the youngest member of a well-oiled bowling attack but by no means the least accomplished. The team compiled a fantastic season, winning twelve games, losing three and drawing one enroute to lifting the premiership cup on the final Saturday of the season. Noah was right there amongst it, an enormous sense of satisfaction attached to the premiership medal around his neck.

Read more: David Nieper Academy celebrates Silver Artsmark accreditation

Not content to rest on his laurels, Noah went into the off-season with the same sense of resolve as had driven him 12 months prior. Having set and achieved the goal of becoming a regular 2nd XI player, Noah had his sights on an even higher aspiration – to break his way into the 1st XI team.

Another big off-season in the gym saw him make further strides in terms of his fitness, and another big pre-season again had selectors on notice. It was a moment of immense pride when he was selected to make his 1st XI debut ahead of Round 1… only for the entire round of matches to be abandoned due to rain. Unfortunately, this was just a taste of things to come, with the first six weeks of the season all being called off due to what was an unprecedentedly wet start to the summer.

A month and a half into the season and with still not a single ball bowled, Noah would have been forgiven for thinking he was due for some luck. Unfortunately, things would only continue to go from bad to worse! A sudden onset of abdominal pain would see him rushed to hospital on the day of his 21st birthday, where he underwent emergency appendectomy surgery which would once more consign him to the sidelines while he recovered.

Despite his enormous frustration, Noah was not to be deterred, and he set himself to the task of working his way back into the frame for 1st XI selection. Despite still being unable to bowl, he was back out on the park just 14 days post-surgery, scoring a composed 32 while opening the batting for the 3rd XI. A week later, he was back opening the bowling in the 2nds, and after just three games, he finally earned the chance he had long been craving.

Read more: New ‘Introduction to Running’ programme to start in Riddings

The first round back after the Christmas break saw Noah become the 258th capped 1st XI player for East Belmont. After an emotion charged build up, he made a dream start to his 1sts career, claiming not one but two wickets in his first over, finding himself on a hat-trick before eventually finishing with figures of 2/16 from five overs. From there, he never looked back, holding onto his spot throughout the season as he picked up 12 1st XI scalps at an average of 19.75, including a best performance of 3/7.

With the 1sts on track for another finals appearance, Noah would be soon to set himself another lofty ambition – to win the 1st XI premiership. After negotiating the first two weeks of the finals series to qualify for the Grand Final, tragedy again struck when Noah was struck awkwardly on his right pinky finger during fielding drills at the final training session before the big game. Initially fearing a dislocation, he was taken to hospital where x-rays revealed the news to be much worse: his finger was badly broken.

Noah watched on dejectedly from the sidelines as the 1sts suffered a bitterly disappointing 31-run defeat in the Grand Final two days later. While this was already a bitter enough pill to swallow, he had even larger concerns about the potential implications for the next step on his cricketing journey.

Midway through the Australian summer, Noah had made the big decision to try and take his game to the next level by heading to the UK to play during the northern summer. Via a connection with a mutual great of both clubs, Matt Lineker, Noah had been recommended to join up with Alfreton C.C. and had been eagerly awaiting this exciting chapter.

Read more: Oxfam Alfreton takes part in national charity partnership offering five tickets to Glastonbury 2023

Initially being told that he was likely to require multiple surgeries to install and remove steel pins, followed by a lengthy rehab, Noah feared that his UK adventure was over before it had even begun. He finally received a dose of luck when the bone was able to be reset without requiring surgery, although a stint in plaster followed by a splint left him with extremely limited mobility in his right hand for several weeks.

Having made good progress on his rehab since then however, he has finally been given the green light to travel and will depart for England on the 3rd of May, something he is looking forward to with enormous enthusiasm! While there is the possibility that he may yet miss a game or two as he completes his rehab post-arrival, he cannot wait to meet his new Alfreton clubmates and get back out on the park as soon as he is physically able to.

Noah is a bustling right-arm quick, who generates a lot of momentum through his delivery stride and loves to bash the ball hard into the wicket. His greatest weapon as a bowler is his bouncer, and while acknowledging that the English conditions may not suit that style of bowling as well as in Australia, he is looking forward to adapting to the challenge and becoming a more three-dimensional bowler with a few more strings to his bow. East Belmont coach Chris Williams recently said of Noah that his greatest attribute is that “he regularly gets the best opposition batsmen out.”

As a batsman, Noah has had limited opportunity during his senior career, having batted mostly at number 10 or 11 since becoming a regular member of the 1st and 2nd XI teams. Despite this, he has always prided himself on his batting and has the objective to eventually build himself into a player capable of batting around the number eight position and regularly providing value with bat as well as ball. Technically pretty sound and capable of giving the ball a good whack, Noah has the building blocks to be a useful contributor when called upon to do so.

Read more: Tickets go on sale for Alfreton Male Voice Choir’s fundraising concert

As still a very young player, Noah has enormous potential for further development. He actively seeks out opportunities for self-improvement and is hugely excited by the prospect of making further strides during the English summer. It will also be his first time overseas by himself, as well as his first time living away from home, so the opportunity for personal growth as well as on the cricket field is something he is keen to embrace.

Noah possesses a great sense of ownership of his home club and has shown plenty of maturity in having served on the East Belmont committee for the past three years. His responsibilities in that time have included that of junior coach, social committee organiser and assistant bar manager. He loves the sense of camaraderie that comes from being a part of a club and has always sought to maximise his contributions whether they be on the field of off it.

Another part of club life which Noah has a deep love for is the social aspect. He absolutely thrives in a team-oriented environment and loves nothing more than bonding with his teammates over either a hard-fought win out in the middle or a beer and a few laughs back in the clubrooms at the end of a day’s play. He has a big heart, which he wears on his sleeve, and he will never give less than his absolute all if it means helping his teammates come out on the winning side of a contest. All of Noah’s very best friendships have stemmed from his time at East Belmont, and he can’t wait to establish even more lifelong bonds by getting amongst it with the Alfreton lads!

It has been an up and down journey for Noah right throughout his cricketing life, but he has never shied away from a challenge and has in fact enthusiastically embraced every one that has come his way. Heading overseas by himself at such a young age is another huge challenge and one which will take him well outside of his comfort zone, but he is extremely grateful to the entire Alfreton family for showing such faith in him and you can be sure that he will give it absolutely everything once he is over there to make sure that faith is repaid.”

Alfreton can’t wait to have Noah and are hopeful he can start this Saturday against Clowne Town on the Asha Oval with a 1PM start.