Saker lauds incredible Dean effort

Not in the 123-year history of the Sheffield Shield had anyone scored two centuries on debut; until Saturday at the MCG.

Six months ago, Travis Dean was the apprentice greenskeeper at Werribee Park golf course.

On Saturday he became the next big thing in Australian cricket, breaking new ground in the 123-year history of the Sheffield Shield.

Dean battled for the length of two Victorian innings, becoming the first man ever to score twin centuries on his Shield debut as the Bushrangers defeated Queensland by nine wickets despite a 125-run first-innings deficit.

With his parents from Werribee and his grandparents from Deniliquin in the MCG stands, the 23-year-old struck unbeaten knocks of 154 and 109 - scoring the winning runs for good measure.

But who is he and where did he come from?

The short, freckled right-hander worked his way through the ranks of club cricket, tallying 732 runs in his last two seasons for Footscray-Edgewater.

Centuries at Futures League - state second XI - level landed Dean his first full-time cricket contract with Victoria in April.

After the winter break, Dean picked up where he left off with 217no for the under-23 side in Perth, making his state team claims impossible to deny.

Even then, to make room in the Bushrangers side, coach David Saker needed to drop Australian T20 captain Aaron Finch.

Saker admitted it was an agonising decision that he was "very close" to not making, but he was blown away by the results.

"There's no words you can use. If we could script a debut game you couldn't have even scripted it like that," Saker said.

"Obviously Finchy would've been in that spot ... we were going to give him five or six games (to settle), but I've told him that's the standard he's set, he was outstanding."

Saker said Victoria - and possibly Australia - had found a new top-order star.

"The really pleasing thing is he gets his hundred and the next ball is like he's still on nought ... that's always a really good sign of a batsman that is in control of his game."

"He's got that sort of temperament that really says he could play at the top level, but it's one game. We're just really chuffed with the way he went about it. Hopefully it keeps happening."

While he faced 500 balls in his Shield debut without being dismissed - another record - Dean put it down to "beginners luck" and set his sights on more modest goals.

"I'll just have a few beers tonight. Let it sink in and enjoy it," he said.

"Hopefully next week I can get another game and push on from there."


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Source: AAP



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