CAMPBELL Vadlja has made the best first impression possible by scoring a century in his debut innings for Woodville in the South Australian Cricket Association (SACA) Premier first grade on Saturday.
The 22-year-old said it was “a relief” to reach triple figures for the first time since January 2020, scoring 108 from 120 deliveries against Northern Districts with his knock including 15 fours and a six.
The Mildura East product did admit his disappointment at not being able to help his new club to victory as chasing a seemingly attainable 253, Woodville were all out for 232 in the 48th over after losing wickets at inopportune times.
Vadlja, who spent the past two seasons at Adelaide University Cricket Club, said the knock had “been a while coming”.
“It was good to get the runs but a bit disappointing I couldn’t stay in and help seal the deal for the side,” he said.
“I felt really good out there, I think the wicket suited me and my game. Once I hit a couple of boundaries, that helped me to feel comfortable at the crease and I was able to build a few partnerships, but it was just a shame I couldn’t be there at the end to help get us across the line. We’ll learn a few things from this and hopefully it will help us improve going forward.
“It’s a good platform for me to build on and if I can keep being positive going forward hopefully the runs will keep coming.”
Batting at No.3, Vadlja came in the third ball of the innings but was able to get the scoreboard ticking over as wickets fell at the other end.
The son of seven-time Sunraysia Cricket Association (SCA) Innes Medal winner Tom Vadlja shared in a fourth-wicket partnership of 100 runs with Mitchell Fuss (46) before he was caught of the bowling of Harvey Box with the scoreboard at 7-190.
“I came in for the third ball of the innings and getting in early and facing the new ball probably helped, I haven’t been in that position for awhile,” he said.
“Personally, I prefer setting a total rather than chasing. With the pitch and the slightly shorter boundary we always thought 250 was achievable. We were getting the runs OK but we just kept losing wickets at bad times and couldn’t quite build enough partnerships.”
Vadlja made his debut for Woodville last week, playing in the opening three rounds of the Twenty20 Cup.
He had a promising debut in the South Australian competition, averaging 37.22 runs with a strike rate of 72.7 during the 2019-20 season. Adelaide University finished first in the 2020-21 competition, but Vadjla received few opportunities at bat, and he was unable to build on his maiden century from his first year at the club.
“I’ve fitted in really well at Woodville, it’s a pretty young squad and we’re all at similar stages in our careers and getting to compete against more experienced groups is exciting,” he said.
