RELIEF was the biggest feeling for Irymple coach Mark Thomson as he saw the umpire’s arms raised at the opposite end.
Following so many near misses and surviving a late dropped catch against Mildura Settlers, the reigning Innes Medal winner finally brought up his maiden Sunraysia Cricket Association first division century on Saturday.
After his pull shot for six brought up triple figures, Thomson was eventually dismissed for 106 from 120 deliveries as the Swallows were all out for 269 at Mildura Senior College.
The all-rounder had come close to the milestone on many occasions, including 93 against Gol Gol in round 3 this season.
“It was nice to finally get there, it’s been a long time coming,” Thomson said.
“There was a fair bit of relief and there was some luck involved as well.
“The ball I hit to make the hundred was in the right sport for me but I was dropped on 95 as well.
“I think that happened about two overs before drinks, and I wasn’t sure what I was on at the time until the boys told me during the break.
“I was able to get there about two overs after drinks which was a relief.”
Bryson Lush (51) and Jarrad Armsden (44) also made important contributions with the bat, but it was taking the ball for eight overs at the end of the day which put the Swallows in prime position.
Vice-captain Billy Phelan took four wickets in four overs as Setts were left reeling at 4/2 at the end of play.
“Bryson and I were able to get off to a reasonably solid start and we were able to build on that … to get 250-plus is always a good result,” Thomson said.
“That eight over stint at the end of the day is ideal as a fielding side, it suited us nicely as in that time there’s not a huge amount to gain for batters.
“It suited Billy perfectly, he was able to steam in for four overs and straight at the stumps, so four wickets was a huge result.
“The one to get Jason Morrison was a bit luckier as he gloved it down leg side but he bowled brilliantly.”
The Swallows’ runs could not have come at a better time as last year’s grand finalists had a 2-3 record heading into this game.
The skipper was hopeful of making that record a positive one prior to Christmas.
“We’ve sort of slipped off a bit,” he said.
“We’re obviously in a reasonable position in this game but we’ve lost a couple of games we weren’t planning on, but it was probably a wake-up call for us.
“If it’s on the cards an outright would be huge but we’ll have to see how it all plays out in the first hour.
“Hopefully we can attack the last couple of weeks before the Christmas break hard and build some momentum and then come out firing when we’re back in action in 2024.”
Mildura Settlers continue their innings from 1pm Saturday.
