To his teammates, Liam Rodgers is known as 'Buck'.
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This is a nod to his surname, which he shares with former Australian opening batter Chris Rogers, who also bore the moniker 'Buck' during his playing days.
But the pair have more than just a name in common.
![Liam Rodgers showed maturity beyond his years in compiling 94 to salvage Tamworth City's first innings on Saturday. Picture by Zac Lowe. Liam Rodgers showed maturity beyond his years in compiling 94 to salvage Tamworth City's first innings on Saturday. Picture by Zac Lowe.](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/ijfQKXbsEKgSKGW5xB5NiF/26930349-51ab-4baa-99d0-90187bd17b3a.jpg/r0_59_2048_1383_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
Rodgers showed on Saturday that he shares the retired test cricketer's coolness under pressure, as he salvaged what looked likely to be a lost innings with a knock of 94 for Tamworth City against South Tamworth.
When the 20-year-old walked to the No. 1 Oval wicket with the score at 4-45, the current top-ranked first grade team looked on the verge of complete collapse.
In a situation that would leave most batters riddled with anxiety and nerves, there was "not much" going through Rodgers' head except a sense of focus.
"I just thought if we spend the next five overs consolidating, because we'd just lost three quick ones, then I knew it'd play pretty well after that," he said.
"Once we got through that little tough period, it was pretty easy after that."
Despite his tender age, Rodgers exudes a sense of calm which illustrates why he was entrusted with the captaincy in round three, when regular skipper Tait Jordan represented Central North in the Country Championships.
But it was not all smooth sailing for the carpentry apprentice on Saturday.
"I went through stages, I middled the ball early, then stopped middling them, then started middling them again," Rodgers said.
"But [the conditions] were alright. It was a good pitch, and a good outfield which helped. If you beat the infield, it was pretty well four."
As his innings began to blossom, Rodgers put on 156 with Charlie Henderson (55) for the sixth wicket.
He was eventually dismissed in the final over of the innings, half a dozen short of what would have been a well-deserved century.
"I'm not really that disappointed," Rodgers said.
"I probably should have gone a bit harder a bit earlier if I'd really wanted it, instead of leaving it to that last over."
Rodgers' unselfish batting, and his first half-century of the season, saw Tamworth City through to a total of 6-227 from their 40 overs, and drew praise from Jordan.
"Liam had been batting at five or six all year, only coming in for cameos at the end," the captain said.
"He got his chance to make a big score today, and he did."
With South Tamworth missing players who might otherwise have strengthened their batting, the second innings felt somewhat like a foregone conclusion against the likes of Jordan and the rest of Tamworth City's bowling lineup.
- Also read: Central North struggle at Bradman Cup
The wickets were distributed fairly evenly, with three to Andrew Baines, two to Jack McVey and Jordan, while Matthew Holmes and Simon Bellamy picked up one apiece as South Tamworth staggered to 121 all out.
"I don't think they were full strength today ... but we started off well," Jordan said.
"It's very easy to bowl behind a big total like that, you know you just have to get it right and the pressure will do the work for you."
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