CAMPBELL Vadlja knows how to start the season on the right foot for Woodville.
The 23-year-old Mildura East product smashed 141 not out for his side during their opening contest of the South Australian Premier Cricket season on Saturday. The knock helped Woodville to 7/446 in their two-day contest against Port Adelaide.
Rewind 12 months and Vadlja scored a century on debut for the club in the 2021/22 season.
“It’s a bit funny for that actually,” the left-hander said.
“I’m not sure why it’s happened like that but hopefully I can bat a bit more consistently through this season than I did last year.
“To be fair it was a batting paradise but it was good to cash after a good display from our openers. They set the tone and we were able to follow.”
In his first season with Woodville in 2021/22, Vadlja finished with 373 runs at an average of 37.3.
The number three batsman admitted he didn’t feel in the greatest of form prior to the innings.
“I actually wasn’t hitting them all that well before,” he said.
“I had been a bit worried about it and was just hoping something would click…clearly it did.
“It was good to get one off the bat early and now I feel a lot more relaxed ahead of the rest of the season.
“Two day cricket used to be my preference but then I became more of a white-ball cricketer over the last few years. I haven’t had a lot of success with red-ball cricket in Adelaide so it was nice to reach the century.
“You’ve just got to be patient and bat time. After the tea break you can always get a few more runs as the loose balls will come. It’s just about blocking out the good ones and hitting the bad balls when you can.”
Vadlja believes Woodville will be pushing for finals cricket this campaign.
“I think we’ll give finals a good run,” he said.
“We’ve got an English import in Ben Charlesworth come in who’s a first grade cricketer and he is fantastic.
“For me it’s all about going on with those starts and not getting out in the 40s and 50s like I did last year. There’s a lot of two-day cricket ahead this year and there’s plenty of time to bat.”
