When Hayden Griffith walked out to the crease for the Orange under 16s representative side it's safe to say there was a bit of pressure on his shoulders.
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Pressure? More like the weight of the world.
With his side sitting at 4-25 against Lachlan at Anzac Park, the situation looked grim.
Enter Griffith, who not only steadied the ship but decided to have a bit of fun along the way, whacking 99 to help Orange reach a strong total of 251.
He was caught agonisingly short of a century but put any frustration to good use with the ball, scattering Lachlan's batting order to finish with figures of 6-5 off four overs as their opponents were all out for just 44.
Speaking to the Central Western Daily, Griffith said he knew he had a job to do with his team in trouble.
"I felt like I did pretty well on the weekend so yeah I'm feeling pretty good," he said.
"I had a job to do and I did it quite well. The coach was happy with me.
"You just have to focus on building partnerships with the other bloke on strike and obviously trying not to get out. Taking singles whenever you can get them. It worked out really good actually.
"Those were the best figures of my career. I just felt like I was bowling really well. I picture myself as an all-rounder."
Griffith, who shares his cricket talent with sister Montana, has been plying his trade for Orange City in the Bathurst Orange Inter District Cricket (BOIDC) season in 2023/24.
The 15-year old said the Warriors environment was helping him develop his game.
"I played a couple of games of first grade last season but I'll be in first grade for the rest of this season," he said.
"It's been really good. I'm getting a lot of experience out of it and playing with Ed Morrish I'm getting to learn a lot.
"He's a left-hand batter like I am so it's quite fun watching him. He's very good at giving encouragement and makes you want to keep getting better.
"At the moment I just want to keep playing at the level I'm at and not drop my head if I don't do as well."
Orange sit first on the ladder in the under 16s Greg Griffith Shield with two rounds remaining.
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