Softball: Aussie coach confident his young team will make the top four

Australian head coach Bob Harrow is already talking up the men's World Series game against New Zealand on Saturday night.

"That will be a barn-burner, that one," the Canadian-born Harrow said yesterday.

"Everyone in New Zealand should be at that game."

The tournament begins tomorrow night with the Black Sox facing Samoa. Australia open their campaign against the Philippines on Friday morning.

"We're sure looking for a top four [overall placing], and I'm confident we'll be there," Harrow said.

Australia finished a disappointing 11th at the 2000 world championships in South Africa - before Harrow's involvement - and have a best placing of fifth at Manila in 1992.

But the Australian Steelers showed last year that they were a coming force in world softball, reaching the final of the tri-series in New Zealand where they were beaten 9-6 by New Zealand.

They beat Japan in that series for the first time and then repeated the feat. "And they've come further since then," Harrow said.

The Australians arrived in Christchurch fresh from an international series with Canada and the Netherlands in 35C heat in Canberra. They were beaten 7-3 by Canada in the final.

Canada have won the world title three times and seldom been out of the medals.

Harrow said the strength of his team would be good pitching, a lot of speed, and good bat control.

Australia have won the last two junior world series and have three or four players in the squad from the successful 2001 team.

"So, that's how young we are," Harrow said.

One of those youngsters, home run-hitting pitcher Andrew Kirkpatrick, was used sparingly in the Canberra tournament, pitching one full game against the Netherlands and losing a perfect game in the seventh.

"I was definitely holding him back," Harrow said. "I didn't want to show him that much, there's no question about that."

But the Aussie Steelers did see a fair bit of veteran Canadian hurler Darren Zack with good results against him.

"They're saving their young gun - they've got a guy by the name of [Nick] Underhill and we never saw him at all. He's pretty good."

- NZPA