Young gun cricketer Ryan Hackney has secured a two-year rookie contract with the NSW Blues.
The 18-year-old was awarded the contract on the back of a stellar performance at the Under 19 Championships in December where he broke by 13 runs, cricket star Matthew Wade's record of 1091 runs at domestic Under 19 level.
He went on to represent Australia in the under 19 squad which faced Pakistan in the three Youth One Day Internationals in late December in Melbourne and then a Big Bash League pathways match at The Gabba, featuring the best under 19s cricketers in January.
“I wasn’t expecting it at all really. It’s pretty big news, I’m shocked to say the least,” Hackney said.
“It’s a massive opportunity to learn and develop skills and learn from people that are right now playing top level cricket.”
The left-hander from Faulconbridge is looking forward to being around the NSW squad and seeing how the batters train and picking their brains.
Hackney will train with the squad at the SCG three to four times a week in addition to his own gym and cardio training. Whether he gets game time with the Blues will depend on his performance with Penrith where he plays first grade.
When he’s not at cricket training, Hackney is hitting the books, studying sports management part-time through Deakin University.