AN unbeaten century by Mildura West opener Ben Hallam has kept his side’s Sunraysia Cricket Association finals hopes alive.
Hallam scored a superb 115 not out as his side easily accounted for Mildura East in Saturday’s one-day fixture to move within one win of fourth-placed Nichols Point.
“It was amazing – he is just a lovely kid,” teammate and former Mildura West captain Brandon Dixon said of Hallam’s match-winning performance.
“He trains hard, he is always around the club – you probably won’t see a player at a club who is loved as much as Ben.
“I was captain when he played his first First Division game and it was against Workers Gol Gol a few years ago and I remember he was just a young quiet kid who didn’t say much but he was always really determined.”
Dixon said Hallam was one of the hardest-working players at the club and his determined approach towards his game earned him plenty of respect from teammates.
“There wouldn’t be one player at the club who people would want to succeed more than Ben – sometimes he wears the weight of the world on his shoulders, but it was great to see him dominate the match and lead from the front,” he said.
“Just the emotion of everyone when he scored his century – think he knows himself the effect he has on the club and players.”
Mildura West now head into Saturday’s round 17 match against Nichols Point knowing they must win.
With only two rounds remaining and Mildura West having the better draw, Saturday’s game shapes as a mini-final.
“The next two weeks are definitely like a final for us – it’s a good way to prepare and a good position to be in and we will certainly be backing ourselves in these next couple of games,” a confident Dixon said.
“(Nichols Point) want to play finals as much as us and it would be a great story if they did make it, given it would be their first finals appearance since rejoining the competition, but we also want to be in the top four and we believe we can shake things up if we can make finals.”
Mildura West’s big win over East on the weekend was made more impressive given the absence of captain and star all-rounder Chris Williams.
Winning has proven difficult for West in the past when Williams has been missing from their line-up and Dixon says Saturday’s win will be a big confidence boost heading into the final two rounds of the home-and-away season.
“Chris Williams would be a massive out for any team he was playing for but for us it was just really satisfying to show we could do it without Chris and show a few other people we can win without Chris in our side,” Dixon said.
“The issue we have had is a bit of consistency.
“Everyone in the side has shown they can fire shots in First Division cricket; it is just a matter of getting us to do it as a team on the day.
“Even some of the poor losses we have had, there have been some shining moments in those games.
“It is just a matter of getting everyone to perform well on the one day.”
Dixon also made special mention of the role Luke Hickey played as stand-in captain.
“Luke Hickey took the reigns as captain yesterday (Saturday) – he was fantastic and really led from the front,” Dixon said.
“He was really aggressive with his field movement and in the way he wanted people to bat and take the game on.
“He is just another really young talented kid coming through the ranks for us.”
