Tara Murray
Max Hatzoglou is hoping some strong performances in Adelaide will put him in the perfect place for a spot in the Victorian under-19 team.
Hatzoglou, previously represented Victoria as an under-17, has been named in the Cricket Victoria’s under-19 male emerging performance squad.
He said the prospect of representing his state again was exciting.
Hatzoglou started his career at Sunshine Heights before moving to Premier club Melbourne University.
“That was awesome to get announced in that and that’s really important,” he said.
“If I can get involved at state level and perform really well at that level, it can really propel me and take me somewhere with my cricket.
“It’s always been a goal of mine to continue to play at state level and hopefully as I get older that continues and I can have a career in cricket.
“If I can continue to train and have a good year who knows where it will take me, hopefully I’ll keep doing well and the rewards come down the track.”
Max and his older brother Peter Hatzoglou have headed off to Adelaide to get their cricket seasons underway, with cricket still more than a month away in metro Melbourne.
The two spent two weeks in quarantine in Darwin before arriving in Adelaide last week.
Peter was earlier this year named in the Cricket Victoria 2020 Emerging Performance Winter Squad.
“A player agent rang up and spoke to my brother and I and he suggested it might be a good opportunity to play district cricket there and also potentially get involved with the state stuff,” Max said.
“My older brother Peter has come with me and is doing some cricket with South Australia and the SACA [South Australian Cricket Association] and he’ll be training with them and potentially playing a few games.
“We’re playing together at Prospect Cricket Club which will be exciting and we’re really looking forward to it.”
Hatzoglou said at this stage they would play the season by ear before deciding whether to head back to Melbourne later in the season.
With both brothers performing well, it wouldn’t come a surprise to many that they come from a cricketing family.
Hatzoglou said there were plenty of good games of cricket in the backyard growing up.
“Me and my three brothers and my dad all played for Sunshine Heights and mum has always helped out there.
“As we’ve gotten older we’ve moved to district level but we’re still involved at Sunshine Heights coaching and dad is still the president and still playing.”
While Hatzoglou is focused on a cricket career on field, his love of the sport and sport in general sees him focusing on sports journalism.
He said once cricket is over, it’s a career he would like to get into.
“I’m a real sports lover and I’ve been writing articles and I’ve been running a sports radio show, it’s been keeping me busy which has been good fun.
“I love sport and to be able to write and talk about sport as a job, that’s definitely something I would like to do, hopefully after a cricket career.”
