Shepparton Youth Club United’s imports have found a second home at Princess Park

Although coaching an under-12 side can appear like herding sugared-up cats, the session carried on in an organised chaos.

The trio, from the United Kingdom, appears to have quickly adapted to life on the other side of the planet.

Jake Callow (Sussex) will be a familiar name to Haisman Shield fans as he returns to SYCU for a second straight season.

In addition to Callow, Sam and Steven Nash continued their international recruiting drive as they convinced young top-order batter Ben Greenwood (Reading) and silky left-handed batter Seb Menzhausen (Nottinghamshire) to don the whites at Princess Park.

Menzhausen was arguably the highest-profile signing, given his experience playing second XI cricket for Nottinghamshire County Cricket Club.

During a conversation mid under-12 training session, the 23-year-old reflected on what first engaged his interest in cricket.

“I started out with my granddad in the garden from when I was about a one-year-old,” Menzhausen said.

“Chopped a bat in half and I would just play.

“He was a left-hander, I do everything right-handed, it is only cricket I do left-handed and that is because of my granddad, basically just wanting to copy him.”

New teammate Greenwood shared a similar tale, crediting his grandfather for keeping his passion for the game burning.

“(I have) played forever really,” Greenwood said.

“It was all through my granddad, he loved it and he got me into it.

“Even when I didn’t enjoy it at times when I was younger, he would send me letters and books about it.

“That really sparked the interest for me.”

Menzhausen played his junior cricket through the “Notts” County pathways and played three matches — two four-day fixtures and a one-day — for the second XI before he was released from the squad at 19.

Unfortunately for the gun batter, his debut second XI match against Northamptonshire in 2019 was marred after he broke his finger in the warm-up — not ideal for your first step into the world of professional cricket.

Menzhausen hopes his experience playing in different conditions and against high-quality bowlers can help prepare him for another shot at Notts.

After struggling to make an impact with the bat in his first few matches, Menzhausen said he had found his rhythm on Australian pitches after scoring two 50s in his past four digs.

“It’s very different, obviously in the UK (pitches) are very slow and low, so you kind of have to play within yourself a lot, whereas out here you can be more expansive,” Menzhausen said.

“I think it is something that takes a bit to pick it all up.

“I think the fundamentals are the same; respect the good bowlers, play nice and straight, it just takes time, it’s a big move to the other side of the world on your own.

“Your cricket won’t be where you want it to be at the start.”

Greenwood too found it tricky to adapt his game at the beginning of the season, however, he said he was starting to feel more settled at the crease in recent weeks.

“It’s a different focus on skills, I have noticed my scoring areas have had to change,” Greenwood said.

“I struggled over the first four or five games to understand that, the last few weeks I have felt like I am building to something, making a few starts.

“I used to score a lot of runs through third man and behind square, I thought coming out here with quicker pitches and more bounce that I could do the same thing.

“I have struggled to get on top of (the ball), so I have had to use my feet and the crease differently and actually had to try and score in front of square.”

Aside from his work with the willow, Greenwood has been taking poles for SYCU this season.

The young all-rounder has taken nine wickets for the season, sitting second behind captain Nash in the club’s tally.

Greenwood said he wasn’t expecting to be as damaging with the ball as he had been, given back home he is used more as a part-time bowler.

Having now spent a few months in the Goulburn Valley, Greenwood said he was glad he listened to his friend Dan Jones — SYCU’s 2023-24 import — about playing at Princess Park.

“For the last few months I have seen why (Jones) gave the club such good words,” he said.

“It is such a good community here.

“What Steven and Sam have done over the past couple of years, since coming over in the past couple of months, what everyone has told me is they have built a real community, everyone is so tight-knit.

“We will be up at the Shepp Club tonight getting a pot and a parmi, there will be 10 of us there on a Thursday, everyone is there and connected and it has been easy to integrate.”

The sense of community was a key factor in why Callow decided to return to United for another season.

Callow had up-and-down performances during his first time at the club.

This summer, the batter-wicketkeeper said he felt he was better equipped to make an impact in the Haisman Shield.

“I would say I am fairly aggressive — at times if you ask Nash he would say I am probably too aggressive,” Callow said.

“I just try to go out there and give it a whack.

“I would say (last summer I learnt) probably more in the two-day stuff — we don’t really play too much two-day cricket back home.

“It is a big difference going from white ball cricket to red ball and learning how to play the two-day game a bit better.

“I got 12 off 50 on Saturday (as an opener), you wouldn’t have seen me doing that last year, it would have been 12 off 12 and then I would have been caught.”

Spending his days buttering pastries and shooting the breeze over flour-covered rolling pins at Higgins Bakery in town, Callow continues to enjoy his time in the Goulburn Valley.

Despite sitting on a 1-5-1 record, the master blaster said he was feeling positive about SYCU’s chances heading into the second half of the season.

“If you look at the Numurkah and Old Students games they were really close," he said.

“They both could have gone either way, you win both of those and suddenly we are sitting (3-3-1).

“Looking at the fixtures we have got for the rest of the year I am feeling pretty optimistic.”

Callow also played a role in securing one of the other boys at United for the summer, as Menzhausen reflected on what drew him to Princess Park.

“I had interest from various teams, as you could imagine I had no idea about Australia and a lot of the people I knew that came over here were in like Sydney or Melbourne, more like a city centre,” Menzhausen said.

“I am from the country, so I wasn’t too bothered with being in the city centre as long as I still had access to it.

“As soon as I spoke to (Sam) Nash I could tell how good of a bloke he was and then with that, you can get a gist of the whole team.

“It drew me to the club, I also spoke to Callow on the phone and everything about it seemed like the right fit for me and ever since I got here it has been.

“I have gelled with the team and everyone has been so nice and welcoming.”

Heading into the mid-season break, the boys have their sights set on making the most of the club’s four weeks off due to a bye and a split round.

Greenwood said after spending a lot of time in the searing Shepparton sun, a few boys would be heading to New Zealand for a week to relax.

“I have been struggling with (the heat), especially under the lid, but I am getting used to it now,” Greenwood said.

“Trying to make the most of being in Australia, because it is not easy to get down here, so a few of the boys will be going over to New Zealand next month."