CAMPBELL Vadlja says he plans to head back to Adelaide as soon as South Australia opens its border to Victoria.
The 22-year-old parachuted in for a match-defining knock of 88 for his home club Mildura East on Saturday in their win over Coomealla Wentworth in Sunraysia cricket, but still has his eyes on returning to South Australia where he has been in the South Australian Cricket Association system with the Emerging Redbacks.
“I’ve just got to wait for the borders to open (on December 1), that will probably be when I head back,” he said.
“I love it in Adelaide, it’s good there, it’s a very liveable city.
“Cricket there is good and I’m learning a lot. I’m pretty happy.”
Vadlja had come back to Mildura due to South Australia’s coronavirus lockdown and grasped the opportunity to play for East again with both hands.
“It was very nice to be back in the home colours, it’s been a long time between drinks for me,” he said.
“It was good to have another run around with my mates and my old man.”
Making the weekend more special was sharing a 104-run stand with his dad and seven-time Innes medallist Tom, who scored 38.
“It was good fun batting with him, picking each other’s brains and having fun out there doing what we love – it was good, I enjoyed it a lot,” Campbell said.
“We had to consolidate a bit and make sure we got ourselves in because it was a tricky pitch to bat on. Once we built that partnership it set the platform for the rest of the innings.
“Once we got to 190 that was always going to be tough to chase down on that wicket, especially as it got hotter during the day.”
The younger Vadlja said he was impressed by his father, who now has 156 runs for the season across four innings.
“He’s not ageing at all really, he’s still a very good player,” Campbell said.
“He knows what he’s doing, and he still acts like he’s about 22 years old – he’s pretty crazy.
“He’s still got it I reckon.”
East are scheduled to play struggling Merbein South this weekend, however the day’s play could to be called off under the heat rule with a forecast of 45C.
