While Allansford's Kalin Jans batted his way to 130 runs against Nirranda on Saturday, he thought of his good mate Sam Chilton, who was tragically killed in a crash on the Princes Highway in February.
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The pair had played cricket for the Gators since Jans, now 16, first joined the club as an 11-year-old.
But Chilton was also an avid motocross rider and would don the number 55 while racing.
"When I got past 50 runs Sam started going through my mind," Jans said. "We had quite a close friendship and I'd known him since primary school."
But with his emotions running high and the temperature clocking 39 degrees, Jans made it to the dreaded figure of 99, where he would linger for four balls, or what he said "felt like an hour".
The right ball eventually popped up in the division three match and Jans smashed it to the boundary with a pull shot, notching up his first ever century.
Jans then took his helmet off in a rush of relief and celebrated by shaking hands with Nick Mills at the other end and waving to his teammates on the sidelines.
"It felt amazing," the Emmanuel College student said. "It was one of the best experiences of my life."
But Jans, who later managed to pick up the wickets of Nirranda's two openers, Mark Croft and Owen Simpson, unleashed after he finally made it out of the "nervous 90s".
"I put the foot down after I ticked over and just started smacking them," he said.
He batted 30 overs in all, beating his previous high score by 83 runs. And when the game was over, Jans went straight off to his part-time job as a kitchen-hand at the Mid City Hotel.
He normally plays for the Ben Boyd-coached Allansford under 17s, but has enjoyed good exposure to senior cricket in the 2018-19 season, with a handful of games in the seconds and thirds, along with a decent knock of 26 runs in the Gators' round 14 division one clash against Woodford.
And as Saturday's effort demonstrated, he has no qualms opening the batting.
"I enjoy the pressure," he said. "I want to show I can stand up when it matters.
"Cricket for me is a massive switch-off from the rest of the world. You get there after school and just think about the sport and the people you're with."
Jans said Boyd had played a major role in his development as a cricketer and a young man.
"Ben's had a massive influence on my life," he said.
And Boyd says Jans is one of many young boys and girls at Allansford Cricket Club whose skills are rapidly developing and "thoroughly deserved" his century.
"Kalin is very determined to do well and he's got high expectations for himself," the division one co-coach said. "He'll be a good talent for us in the future."
Allansford thirds skipper Simon Walker said Jans' opening partnership of 150 with Adam Neave, who made 89, set up what would be the Gators' ninth win on the trot.
"He's a very attacking batsman," Walker said. "But he's really improved his shot selection recently."
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