NSW veteran and former Test player Moises Henriques reckons Novocastrian teammate Jason Sangha needs to stay relaxed for the summer ahead.
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Henriques knows better than most the pressure on young cricketers coming through the national ranks as Sangha, who turns 20 years of age on Sunday, sets to embark on his second full season with the Blues.
"It's a tough one with Jas," Henriques told the Newcastle Herald on Wednesday while visiting the region as part of the annual Cricket NSW country blitz.
"Everybody knows and we can see as fellow players when we watch him play and train and bat and move ... he's a star.
"It's how he manages that expectation. If he can relax and keep his head down, which he does quite well, that helps.
"As cricketers we're going to fail and continue to fail, but it's how we bounce back from those failures and keep turning up day after day.
"If he can keep that head up, keep that head moving forward and just relax.
"I think he's a fantastic cricketer and he'll definitely be better for the run [debut season in 2018-19].
"As long as he's not too hard on himself, because he's a perfectionist ... I think he'll play a lot of games for NSW moving forward."
Henriques was joined in Newcastle and Lake Macquarie this week by fellow NSW and Sydney Sixers squad members Stephen O'Keefe, Daniel Hughes and Lauren Cheatle.
Jack Edwards and Harry Conway have been in the Hunter while Justin Avendano and former Belmont first grader Greg West frequented the Central Coast.
O'Keefe has played two Sheffield Shield matches for the Blues at No.1 Sportsground and feels content could return to Newcastle eventually or feature further afield in Country NSW.
"You look at the squads at the moment, or particularly over my time playing cricket, a lot of the players who play for NSW or the Sixers start in the country and it would be remiss of you not to think or remember where you started playing cricket," O'Keefe said.
"Newcastle's been really strong for NSW cricket over time and when you go to the [primary] schools you see the engagement already from young girls, young boys and even right through to high schools.
"There's some great facilities here that have been good enough to play first class cricket at and sometimes when you play at those grounds that aren't the big stadiums you get a better sense of community, better sense of engagement with the fans who can sit on the hill and watch. It feels a little more intimate."
The domestic one-day season starts in just over a fortnight with NSW away to Queensland (men) and South Australia (women) on September 22.
The Blues' opening Shield game will be at the Gabba from October 10. Women's Big Bash League launches on October 18. The men's BBL kicks off December 17.
