Tara Murray
Yarraville Club’s Michael Hill thought he was a little underdone heading into the opening day of play in the Victorian Turf Cricket Association senior division.
He had a light week on the track leading into the game and didn’t train on Thursday night.
It mattered little on Saturday against St Albans.
Hill came to the crease early on after a couple of quick wickets. He was still there at the end of the day unbeaten on 253 off 230 balls. His innings included 30 fours and five sixes.
Hill said it’s always nice to start the season well.
“You come in round one and you don’t perform and you’re thinking I’ve done all the work in the pre-season, am I still somewhat good?” he said.
“It is a good start, more importantly we played as a team especially Sanga [Nandhalal Sangaran] coming in when we were 3-50, to come in and we put on 350-odd.
“It’s a really good exclamation point.”
Sangaran made 107 himself as they took the team’s total to 3-405.
Hill said the pair had some good fun out there.
“Sanga and I are completely different people but we have so much fun batting together,” he said. “It’s always a laugh and joke and not too much serious chat out there.
“We had a lot of fun together and I think you have to when you’re going to bat with someone for four hours, you have to have some connection otherwise it’s going to be a long four hours.”
Hill, who has played state cricket for Victoria and Tasmania and many years of Victorian Premier Cricket, said he thinks that it’s his highest score in his career.
He said by the time he got to 200 and 250, he was knackered.
“I’ve been asked this a little bit over the last 24 hours and I don’t think I have,” he said of making 250.
“When I was really young I might have got 200 in India at one stage, not 250.
“I started a little bit scratchy. I had a little bit of luck, maybe in the late 100s. one of their fielders carried one over for six, got me a little bit closer.
“It was really good.”
For Hill, it’s his second season at the Clubbers after stepping down from premier cricket.
He said he was enjoying his time at the club.
“Just the quality of people there is fantastic,” he said. “When you get a little bit older as well and have children, surrounding yourself with like minded people is crucial.
“We are coming out and playing a competitive sport, I think most of the time we are having fun.”
After being knocked out in the first week of finals last season, Hill said they had spoken about going a little bit further.
The club added three key players, including Hill’s longtime Essendon teammate Matt Doric.
Hill said it was good to be back playing cricket together.
“We’ve got some good quality players and retaining the ones that we have got is sensational.
“Hopefully it’s going to be a hotly contested competition, I think it will be.”
