Tatura and Victorian Premier Cricket bowler Michael Archer is heading to England this winter to play cricket in Nottingham.
The disciplined leg-spinner and handy lower-order batter will play for Farnsfield Cricket Club in the third division of the Nottingham Premier Cricket League.
After playing three seasons in the First XI for Greenvale in Victorian Premier Cricket, Archer made the move to Carlton at the start of the 2023-24 season.
The decision has paid dividends for Archer as he has taken 23 wickets at an average of 16.52, while his side currently sits third on the ladder.
Archer said he had always wanted to do a cricket season in the UK; however, he has never had the opportunity due to football and university commitments.
But after finishing his degree and taking a break from football, Archer believes it is now or never.
“I’m getting a little bit older now,” he said.
“I’ll be 27 in February, so I thought I had better do it before I had any real adult responsibilities.
“I haven’t played a heap of two-day cricket, in Melbourne especially, so I am pretty keen to go over there and work on some things that will hold me in good stead for the next season at Carlton.
“I bowl pretty consistently for a leg-spinner, but I also bowl pretty quickly. I don’t do it too much in Melbourne, but I can bat and bowl and, hopefully, there are aspects to the game that I can help the boys out with and help them improve.”
As Archer plans to work on his craft in Nottingham, the 26-year-old also hopes to act as a mentor for his teammates at Farnsfield.
“I’m a teacher, so I like to contribute where I can and help people out,” he said.
“Hopefully, I can impart a little bit of knowledge on the group over there.
“They have finished second in the Championship for the last two years, so I think they are pretty keen to get promoted and back into Premier cricket. Hopefully, I can help them do that.”
Archer won’t be the only Goulburn Valley cricketer playing in England in the coming months, as the leg-spinner revealed there was a group of four or five boys from the Shepparton area playing for various clubs in England.
Some of the cricketers joining Archer in the UK include good friend and Tatura all-rounder Jayden Armstrong and Shepparton United captain Sam Nash.
Numurkah export Dylan Grandell is another to jet to England, while Robertsbridge Cricket Club recently announced Shepparton United’s Joe Hammond as a new signing.
Although the group didn’t initially plan to move over at the same time, Archer said it planned to make the most of its time while experiencing a European summer.
“Already got a Facebook group chat going and the boys have thrown up some ideas of what we could do,” he said.
“A few of us have our partners over there as well.
“We have all played together for country week before and have spent a fair bit of time together. Once we realised we would all be over there at the same time we all got pretty excited and are pretty keen to catch up and see what we can experience together.”