Simon Norvill is looking to use last weekend's Regional Bash as a springboard into this weekend's Northern Country Championships.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
or signup to continue reading
The Old Boys opener will suit up for Central North on the Central Coast, and do so in great form after blasting 156 runs for the Northern Inland Bolters in their, albeit unsuccessful, campaign.
Norvill was the second top-scorer overall for the weekend and either the Bolters' top or second top-scorer in all three of their games, the highlight of which was a 45-ball 94 against the Macquarie Coast Stingers.
"I've had some starts in the first two games of the year and actually went on with a couple this time so it was good," he said.
And he wasn't too miffed about missing out on what would be been his first century for the season.
"I didn't know exactly how many I was on, but I knew I was getting close," he said.
"But given we'd lost the first game I was just trying to get as many runs as we could and if I had a ball that I could try and hit I was going to hit it. It was more about scoring runs for the team.
"If I got to 100 I got to 100. I wasn't going to poke it around to get there. But I just miss-hit one and got caught."
Following scores of 29 and 43 for Old Boys in the first two rounds, it is the best start he has had to a season runs-wise "in quite a few years".
READ ALSO:
"I've been hitting the ball really well in the nets for the last few years and haven't been able to bring it to the park," he said.
"Hopefully I can convert some of the good feeling into runs all throughout the year."
He said the weekend had given him a lot of confidence going into what will be a step up again, and will be hoping to pick up where he left off last year after scoring a half-century in their final game.
"A lot of the guys we played against here we'll play against on the Central Coast so you get sort of a practice run in this and then it's a bit more serious next weekend," he said.
"And hopefully we can go to that next stage, which we haven't done yet for Central North."
"We've got a good side and hopefully we can get the three wins."
A seasoned campaigner with the zone side, he said the key to taking the next step will be starting well.
"We usually start poorly which puts us on the back foot from day one," he said.
"Hopefully we can come together on the first day this time instead of the second and third day."
It is always a good weekend, the chance to challenge himself against some of the best players, and bowlers, outside of Sydney, one Norvill relishes.
"I've always been one to thrive on higher level stuff because it brings your game up as well," Norvill said.
"Hopefully that's the case and we can play really well against these other quality sides and we might get another trip down to Sydney hopefully."
