Noah Kelly blog: I love it at Beaumaris

I've only been here in Melbourne for a month and I'm absolutely loving it. The club I work at, Beaumaris, is great and has looked after me very well. I definitely landed on my feet.

In terms of cricket, we only played two matches in the Southern Bayside competition due to rain. We won one and lost one.

We had a good win in my first match, against Mentone, although unfortunately I didn't contribute with the bat. But we have a young team and it was nice to see some of those guys contribute. One of them took a five-for on his debut.

The match that just ended on Saturday was a tricky affair at Murrumbeena. The pitch was very exhausting – not much bounce and actually very British.

The ball didn't go above the knee roll all day and we were playing against a very experienced attack who knew how to bowl on their own ground.

We chased 170 in 40 overs but needed 34 from the last two. I hit 14 on the penultimate and then a four on the first ball of the last before being caught at long-on.

Photo by Allan McKenzie/SWpix.com. Noah Kelly has had a weather-disrupted first month in Australia.

We just missed a few key moments in the match and lost a few quick wickets.

It was nice to contribute with the bat – I got 69 from number three – but frustrating that I couldn't get us over the line.

In a strange way, having a bit of rain while also canceling a few practices was really helpful.

Being able to spend some time with my new teammates in the locker room has allowed me to integrate into the group much better than if I had played those games straight away.

When training was cancelled, we went to the club, had dinner and watched the Test matches between England and Pakistan. They were here at the right time for that.

We train twice a week, on Tuesday evenings and Thursday evenings, and that is something the club takes very seriously, which is perfect for me because I want to develop this winter.

Photo courtesy of Beaumaris CC. Noah Kelly will keep the wicket during the early stages of his stay in Melbourne.

Personally, I have also just joined the International Cricket Program – an Academy for foreign players – and I train with them once a week on Wednesdays.

Usually on Sunday afternoons I also have a net with one of the guys from the club, just on a side arm. So I'm going to score three or four times a week and play on Saturdays.

The International Cricket Program will be led by Leicestershire all-rounder Ian Holland as head coach.

Harry Brook was there a few years ago when he went to Sydney.

Although I'm only there once a week with them, Jack Redshaw and Sabir Mahmood, who have played age group and Academy cricket with Yorkshire in recent years, are on that program full time, which I think is four days a week.

I haven't caught up with Ben Cliff, Harry Duke and Will Luxton yet. They also play club cricket in Melbourne. But I spent some time with Jack and also with Luxy's brother, Jack. It was nice to see some faces from Yorkshire.

Photo by Allan McKenzie/SWpix.com. Yorkshire fast bowler Ben Cliff is also in Melbourne this winter.

Myself, Cliffy, Dukey and Luxy meet in early December for a day of fitness testing at one of the Institute of Sport facilities in Melbourne. This was organized by Harry Booker (head of strength and conditioning in Yorkshire).

I have been in regular contact with Yorkshire, through Tom Smith and Alex Donnelly, who, like Harry, is one of our S&Cs. These are basically weekly catch-up conversations. I discuss with Tom the games I just played, and with Alex any questions about the fitness program they have given me to work on.

Beaumaris is a truly beautiful area. It's located along the coast of Melbourne, and the houses around here are incredible.

I spent a lot of time running along the beach road looking at some of those beautiful houses.

I saw one of them and I think it cost $20 million. But that might be a bit out of my budget, I think.

When I signed here, as part of the package I received membership of the local Beaumaris Tennis Club, a sort of Center of Excellence. They have players there with an ATP ranking.

Photo courtesy of Noah Kelly. Noah in his Driffield Town colors during a beach walk in Beaumaris.

I played quite a bit of tennis and pickleball in the evenings, which was great.

However, I'm not so sure I'll break all the way into the world's top 100 in March. You should see my backhand. It's an absolute horror.

On Tuesday I'm going to the Melbourne Cup horse races at Flemington. I have a ticket for that, which is a huge event here. And one of our boys in Beaumaris even has a horse that is running.

It should be a great experience with the atmosphere and everything, but I couldn't quite believe it when I was told it's a public holiday here.

Basically, they have a day off to watch horse racing and place a bet. I'm not too sure how healthy that is, but there we are.

There is clearly something going on in Headingley.

Photo by Harry Trump/Getty Images. New coach Anthony McGrath starts work at Yorkshire today.

I haven't spoken to our new head coach, Anthony McGrath, yet. I'm sure he has a lot on his plate at the moment, so I'll be in touch in the next week.

He will add so much value to the exciting group of players we have. He has so much experience, he has done a great job at Essex and he has Yorkshire blood. I'm really looking forward to working with him.

Alex Wade and Jawad Akhtar, two guys I know very well, have both signed their first professional contracts, which is fantastic news. I'm so happy for them both, and they have a great career ahead of them.

Wadey is such an exciting cricketer.

He's probably the hardest working teenager I know.

He suffered a stress fracture when he was 15 or 16, and the amount of effort he has put into getting his back in order since then is incredible. He's the classic case of first in and last out of the gym.

Photo by Allan McKenzie/SWpix.com. Alex Wade, like Noah Kelly, is a new professional in the Yorkshire senior team.

He's such a genuine guy. If you talk to him, he is certainly not the annoying fast bowler. But the skills he has, and his pace, will make for a great career in white and red ball cricket.

He's very quick with you, and I'm so glad I don't have to face him in the East Stand this winter. He's brutal.

Jawad, we know each other inside and out.

We played our very first match for Yorkshire together when we were under 10 years old, and since then we have played together in every other age group in Yorkshire.

Again, he's someone who works so hard behind the scenes. He works extensively with Amar Rashid at the Adil Rashid Center in Bradford. He's there most nights.

He just loves the game so much, and he's also an incredibly smart cricketer. When he bowls, he works batters out very quickly.

Photo by YCCC. Jawad Akhtar, like Noah Kelly, is a new professional in the Yorkshire senior team.

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