AFTER hitting the first century of the cricket season, Gol Gol’s Shacaya Thomas says all he needed was to bat 30 overs a day, and a friend he could rely on for deliveries five days a week.
Thomas, who hit triple figures in the opening round of the 2021-22 Sunraysia Cricket Association (SCA) season when he notched up an unbeaten 104 in his side’s nine-wicket victory over Merbein South, said he had confidence in his first innings, having faced more than 1000 deliveries a week during an extended preseason.
His innings secured the Coomealla Memorial Sporting Club Senior Player of the Round award.
“I’ve been training all winter … right up to the season. The amount of balls I bat in a week would be more than a person would bat in the entire season,” Thomas said.
The key to Thomas’ process is batting roughly a 40-over match every day in the nets, something he said he’s been able to do thanks to having a friend, former teammate and current Nichols Point batsman Greg Hardy.
“We basically bat anywhere between 200 and 300 balls each, every day, five times a week.”
Thomas said it was good to have someone to “really rely on” to throw balls to him, allowing himself to prepare his mind for weekend cricket.
“If you keep practising the same thing and the correct stuff … it becomes a lot easier when you go in the game, because you already have that mind-set where you’re not reckless.”
After cutting, sweeping and driving his way to the century, Thomas said it was “encouraging” he could still hit a century.
While Thomas last hit a century (124), against Coomealla Wentworth during the 2018-19 SCA season, he has scored 12 half-centuries leading into this season. He said it was Hardy’s support, which sometimes involved Thomas organising training sessions at half-an-hour’s notice, that had contributed to his consistent batting.
“Most of my success is because of him. Who would have thrown all those balls to me all those years? That’s what built my confidence.
Looking ahead to facing his friend in this weekend’s clash with Nichols Point, Thomas said the Gol Gol side had to work on their batting after a middle-order collapse at the weekend.
“If we’re being honest as a team, that first game is far away from anything, but it’s always good to start a season with a win.”
As the Player of the Round, Thomas receives a $50 voucher from Coomealla Memorial Sporting Club.
