Zane Taylor's eye was in. He was timing the ball sweetly. The runs were flowing and the boundaries mounting. He was in the zone.
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So much so, that he almost scored the first century of his life without even realising it.
The Northern Districts youngster was in the 90s before he became aware how close he was to reaching triple figures. Once he realised the milestone was imminent, Taylor did what any 14-year-old would do, he swung the bat to ensure he didn't remain in the 90s for long.
The strategy paid off, with Taylor scoring an unbeaten 106 off just 60 balls in his Northern Districts White team's victory over Dapto in the Illawarra-South Coast Under 14B competition a fortnight ago.
It's an innings, he said, he looks back on fondly.
"It felt pretty good," Taylor said. "I had never done it before, so I didn't know how it would feel, but it felt good.
"I heard them say I was on 90, I didn't realise I was so close and I didn't have many balls left so I just tried to go for it and I got there."
The century capped an impressive season for Taylor, with the youngster scoring 510 runs at an average of 56.7 throughout the year. He has also made his senior cricketing debut, turning out for the Butchers in fourth grade.
He credits the run of form to the time spent in the nets with his brother and father, facing hundreds of balls in an effort to improve his game.
"I've been training more with my brother, who also plays, which has been helping me. My dad has also been helping more and I've focused on cricket more, watching it on TV more and taking it more seriously."
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Taylor's runs will be needed now more than ever for his side, with Saturday marking the first weekend of finals in the local junior competition.
The Butchers White side is set for a tough clash with Balgownie Black, who claimed a Twenty20 victory over Northern Districts last weekend, but Taylor is confident his team can prevail.
"We're versing the same team we versed last week. We got pretty close last week, I reckon if we play the same way, try to attack the same way we did, we'll be able to beat them."