By Russell Bennett
Still only 18-years-old, Riley Clark was originally spoken about in some circles as the proverbial ‘set of steak knives’ when he joined older brother Tyler in their switch from Officer to Kooweerup in the West Gippsland Cricket Association.
But now the young keeper batsman is well on track to forge his own successful path in the WGCA’s top flight, particularly after a weekend that saw him crunch big centuries on successive days.
On Saturday, Riley helped transform a tough start to the Demons’ innings against the Cougars in the Premier grade at Clyde with a brilliant 132 not out, and he followed that up with another ton on Sunday – this time at the top of the order for the WGCA under-18 representative side in a practice match against the might of the Mornington Peninsula in Frankston.
Prior to Saturday, Riley’s crowning glory in senior cricket was an impressive 231 in F Grade for Officer when he was just 15.
But Saturday’s effort was different.
This time it was in the top flight of the WGCA, for a club with a history of recent success more storied than any other. It was also his first game in Premier for the 2019/20 season.
“It was just an unreal feeling at the time, but to be honest it probably still hasn’t fully hit home what sort of feat it really is,” Riley said on Sunday.
“When you’ve got blokes around you like ‘Coops’ (Mark Cooper), ‘Wombat’ (Chris Bright), ‘Tubsy’ (Chris O’Hara), and Jess (Mathers) who’ve been in the top grade of the competition for so long, I just couldn’t believe it.”
Part of that reason may’ve been his cautious start.
Riley looked particularly solid in defense on Saturday, but took a while to get going.
“I was probably on 20 from about 120 balls at one stage,” he said.
“We were just trying to bat out the overs, but then I started to get going in the last 20 overs and I didn’t even realise it when I got to the 90s.”
It was at that stage that he gave the Cougars a couple of tough chances to see the back of him – when he was dropped at cover, and also a difficult caught-and-bowled chance.
“And with one of those drops we took a quick single and I almost got run out as well!” Riley said with a laugh, admitting Saturday might just have been his day.
But, more to the point, it was a glimpse into the future – into the kind of player that he’s developing into right before the eyes of WGCA onlookers.
“When I started ticking over the singles they started to spread the field a bit,” Riley said analytically.
“Then I started getting a bit more confident with my shots and timing them that little bit sweeter.”
Batting at number five on Saturday after star players Cooper and Mathers scored just one run combined, Clark had a 45-run stand for the fourth wicket with Bright that built the foundation for his innings.
“I’d never batted in a game with Wombat before, but on Saturday I saw a different side of him – he’s a real thinker of the game,” Riley said.
“He had some great advice for me that I hadn’t thought of.”
He also had a 47-run stand for the sixth wicket with Adam McMaster, who has significant Victorian Premier experience at both Dandenong and Melbourne; and a 107-run stand with O’Hara for the seventh wicket that played the biggest role in the Demons ultimately reaching 7/338 from their 80 overs.
“Tubsy probably got me through to the ton, to be honest,” Riley said.
“He just kept things really calm, but also kept opening up the gaps with his own batting. They’d keep the same field, so I’d follow his lead.
“All those guys I batted with would give me a big-time confidence boost – even Coops with what he said when he came out with drinks.
“To be honest I didn’t feel that confident to start off with – I was trying to score, but I just couldn’t and I was getting bogged down because I was finding it really hard to pierce the gaps with the ring field they had on the off-side.”
Last season, Riley played under-17s for Beaconsfield in the DDCA with a group of his mates in the mornings, and followed that up with senior cricket duties for Kooweerup in the WGCA in the afternoons.
He loved the opportunity to play a high standard of junior cricket with his friends, and the sheer number of games he played served to fast track his experience in the middle.
He played 13 games at WGCA Premier level with the Demons last season, but predominantly as a keeper who batted in the lower-order or tail.
On Saturday he got his chance to shine right when his side needed him to most, and his ability to convert his start into triple figures is something he credits in no small part to his big brother, who scored 437 Premier runs in his own right last season – including innings of 85 in Round 1, and 90 not out in a do-or-die semi-final.
“I worked with Coops a fair bit over the pre-season and we changed a few things with my technique so I could hit the ball a bit straighter and a bit harder down the ground; and I’d have guys like Tubsy and ‘Togs’ (Mathers) come up and tell me I was batting well in the nets, but Tyler has been massive for me,” Riley said.
“All the boys in the Officer footy club (where both Tyler and Riley play) group chat were getting stuck into Tyler about me making a Premier ton first, and they’re calling him the steak knives now so I don’t think he’s enjoying that too much, but a lot of the credit for my game has to go to Tyler.
“He’s only 21, but he’s got a lot of great advice about the game and I follow it where I can because he’s very smart with his cricket and I’ve grown a lot as a cricketer and a person having him around.”
