Temporary Ballarat-Redan recruit Jack Riding has praised his time in the Ballarat Cricket Association, saying it served as the ideal warm up to the Victorian Premier Cricket season.
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Riding was back with Geelong on Saturday for the opening round of the men's premier seconds season.
He wasted no time opening the batting, scoring 82 not out in a loss to Essendon.
His innings included seven fours in 169 minutes at the crease.
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His quick start was aided in part by a four-game stint in the BCA while premier cricket was postponed due to the COVID-19 lockdown.
"It was good getting back with the blokes I played with before I left Ballarat," said Riding, who joined Geelong three years ago.
"Now that I'm a bit older, I've come to understand the BCA is a good league and there are plenty of good players who made me better."
Riding quickly made headlines in the BCA after smashing the first century of the season in a round one win over Wendouree. It marked the first A-Grade 100 of his senior career.
"It was a good feeling, even better to get the win against Wendouree who we hadn't beaten for years," he said.
Riding wen't on to average 44 runs for the Two Swords, capping off his stint with a knock of 60 in a round five win over Golden Point.
He hoped to take his form back to the premier ranks and earn himself in a first grade debut.
"My goal is to crack the premier firsts," he said.
"I'm always trying to get better and get as much as I can out of myself and not just make up numbers.
"My coach is keeping his cards close to his chest, but he thinks I'll play seconds or firsts this season."
After beginning his premier career in Geelong's third-grade team as a 17-year-old, Riding has climbed the ladder, amassing centuries in the club's second and third XI squads.
His most recent came in the final game of the 2019-20 premier seconds season where he scored 118 against top of the table Prahran.
"It was good to end the season on a high," he said.
"Hopefully that performance might helped me crack the ones, but the team is pretty strong."
After the 2020-21 premier season got postponed, the decision to return to Ballarat was an easy one for Riding.
"We didn't know when premier would start so it was always in my best interest to start at Ballarat-Redan and help their players improve and help myself," he said.
"I was very fortunate to get game time in."
Riding's absence was felt within the Ballarat-Redan ranks on Saturday, with the club losing by five wickets to Buninyong.
The Two Swords will face North Ballarat at Northern Oval this week, while Riding will face Carlton in the premier ranks.
