Cat Jack is riding high at the top
RISING Geelong batter Jack Riding is daring to dream of a state contract after belting his maiden Premier Cricket first XI ton.
The left-hander was right at home back at the top of the order on Saturday against Kingston Hawthorn, smacking 11 fours in his 103 from 122 balls.
After leading all comers in Premier seconds last summer with 706 runs, Riding made his firsts debut in last season’s semi-final.
His breakthrough ton, in just his sixth first XI game, has cemented the 21-year-old in the team and could be the confidence boost he needs to pile on the runs after Christmas.
“You don’t want to dream too big, but you always want to hope for something like a Victorian contract,” he said.
“At the moment, I am just trying to dominate in the ones and hold my spot in there, but after (Saturday) I have massive self-belief that I can do it at that level.
“I will try and stay level with it all and not get carried away with it. I just want to keep working hard at my game. Cricket is a hard sport and there are roller-coasters throughout the season, so I want to just stay level throughout.”
The Ballarat product may have played every game this season in the firsts, but Riding was sent down the order this summer to unfamiliar surrounds, batting at No.7.
He admitted he struggled to adjust to watching the game with his pads on instead of being straight into the action.
When Queenslander Nick Selman departed Geelong after a short stay, the door opened to go back up to No.3.
YOU DON’T WANT TO DREAM TOO BIG, BUT YOU ALWAYS WANT TO HOPE FOR SOMETHING LIKE A VICTORIAN CONTRACT. GEELONG’S JACK RIDING
“I didn’t really have a plan on mentally trying to prepare for it, I was pretty mentally drained,” Riding said.
“I think the biggest adjustment was just trying to chill out throughout the innings and trying to stay calm, because if you open the batting, you are usually straight out there.
“I’ve been hitting them well all year, it is just a different game when you bat seven or eight.
“I was waiting for an opportunity and hoping to get one, and I made a 50 batting at seven (in round 4) that gave me confidence I could play at the level.
“I was just biding my time and waiting for an opportunity, and then (Selman) left and I was hoping it would be my time to go up the order, and luckily enough it was.”