Historic century made

By Lachlan Ellis

A Ballan cricketer has made history, becoming the first female Ballarat Cricket Association (BCA) representative player to make a century.

Thirteen-year-old Sarah Burton from the Ballan Cricket Club hit 105 not out on Thursday 19 January, in the BCA U/14 Girls’ Victoria Girls Shield win against Wimmera in Round 5.

The century – only the third ever in the competition’s six-year history, and the first by a BCA junior representative – ensured the BCA U/14 Girls made their third consecutive Grand Final appearance.

Ms Burton thanked club staff and the community for their support, and said it was an honour to be a part of the Association’s history.

“It was an amazing moment, to have Mum, Dad and my brother there cheering me on. It was pretty surreal; I didn’t expect it to happen. A lot of work has gone into it…I did play in the Youth Premier League beforehand, it was really nice to have all these people support me, and show them what I can do,” she told the Moorabool News.

“It’s pretty awesome to have made history…one of the Hamilton officials was talking about it, and said one of the other three that made a century is bowling for Australia in the Under 19s, so it’s pretty cool to know that I’ve done it too, and to be in the history books.”

Ms Burton also finished as the second leading run scorer at 179 runs at 89.5, in a stellar campaign marking her third straight selection for the BCA U/14 Girls.

The dream, she says, is to play for Australia – and performances like this year’s Shield campaign no doubt improve her chances.

“I’ve been dreaming about that for a while, I’d love to do that…I was really lucky to captain the BCA side, that was a real honour. Hopefully that helps me going forward, and I can represent Victoria or Australia in the future,” she said.

“I’d also like to thank everyone that’s supported me…they’ve been amazing.”