Moreton on the rise

Dain Moreton bats like a seasoned pro for Marist Brothers in the LJ Hooker League (main), and can send down a mean spinner, too (above).

David Nielsen

REMEMBER his name.

Dain Moreton could be the next big thing to come out of Far North Coast cricket.

The kid has just turned 16 but already has a cricket resume as long as the straight boundary at the Adelaide Oval.

Just last Sunday Moreton put an exclamation mark on his resume with an unbeaten 100 to lead Lismore to victory over Tweed in the FNC Under-16 interdistrict final.

The day before, he batted at No 5 for Marist Brothers in the LJ Hooker League, as he has done all season.

Moreton has become a mainstay of Brothers’ middle order after breaking into the team last season.

He averages 43.8 with the bat – a return superior to all but one of the top 10 rungetters in the region.

And he can bowl as well.

In January, Moreton captained the North Coastal Under-16 side at the Bradman Cup, the NSW Country Championship.

He led his side through four matches undefeated, played on the SCG, took five wickets with his left-arm orthodox spin at an average of just under 15 and lifted the trophy victorious at the end of the tournament.

The win sent North Coastal to the State Challenge where the country boys took on the best from the city – Bankstown Cricket Club, the home of Australian cricket’s Waugh brothers.

Again, Moreton would step up, smacking his first 50 at the SCG and leading his team to victory.

“Batting at the SCG is a privilege I was lucky enough to experience,” he said.

“Hopefully down the track I will get to play there again.”

In December 2009, aged 15, Moreton led his St John’s College Woodlawn team to the 37th Australasian Marist Cricket Carnival in Bendigo.

Batting at No 5, Moreton scored 152 runs at an average of 38, and was the leading wicket-taker with seven at an average of 18.

Woodlawn won the tournament and the all-rounder was named in the Australasian Marist XI.

Moreton’s Marist Brothers team-mates Ben Cooper and Nick De Giusti were also in that team.

The talented trio will join forces again this Sunday when they attempt to take the Lismore Under-19s past Casino to the FNC interdistrict title.

But before that, they hope to suit up for Brothers, who are looking to get some play in before the Hooker League semi-finals on March 20-21.

“It has been a bit of a wash-out lately, but our boys have kept training really hard and we are ready for whoever we have to play,” Moreton said.

While rain has slowed the roll of Hooker League teams over the final month of the season, having these young guns who are forever participating in representative teams may just be the key that can deliver Brothers its first title in 13 years.

And the kid Moreton will be there, with bat and ball, looking to enhance his rapidly rising reputation.