The Canberra Grammar choirboy hits almost 1000 balls a week to give bowlers nightmares but Blake Faunce still can't believe the weight of runs that have followed.
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Faunce was a nervous wreck heading into the first round of the Cricket NSW under 14 Harold Moore Shield after failing to trouble the scorers in a handful of practice matches in October.
Within a few hours he had reeled off 104 against Camden. If that wasn't enough, he soon backed it up with three more tons against the brightest youngsters in the state and took plenty of wickets to boot.
Wedged in between was another century for Canberra Grammar's under 15s side. Weston Creek Molonglo selectors have been so impressed that Faunce has been tested in second grade at senior level.
All in all, Faunce has scored 837 runs and claimed 19 wickets in 21 games this season - a resume even he struggles to comprehend.
"I hadn’t scored [a century] at all before this season. It hasn’t sunk in yet," Faunce said.
"It was pretty good [to go home and tell everyone I’d hit another hundred]. Everyone was pretty shocked because I’d never scored one before and then I kept on getting them.
"They were just shocked and couldn’t really believe I had done it, because I had always got to 50 and then got out.
"I’m doing pretty well at school so I think I can manage to balance it alright. Sometimes there is a lot of late nights when you’ve got cricket all day."
The young leg-spinning all-rounder has been working with Western District-UC coach and former Sydney Thunder batsman Blake Dean since the ripe old age of seven after his father identified his potential, as well as Ben Ryan to hone his technique.
Dean saw a "pretty amazing back foot drive" but not much else - most seven-year-old's don't exactly have a glistening arsenal.
One thing Faunce did have, even as a little kid, was a drive to learn and improve.
"He’s an extremely hard working kid, and this year has been awesome to see it actually pay off with how much work he does off the field," Dean said.
"A lot of guys around cricket in Canberra don’t realise how many balls you actually have to hit to make the next level, and as a kid who is only 13, I reckon he is hitting 800 to 1000 balls plus a week.
"That’s absolutely insane, to find the time and sacrifice the time to do that is incredible.
"I wouldn't be surprised if he plays some first grade next year, but again he’s a young kid and you don’t want to put too much pressure on him.
"He’s got some freakish talent and he’s kind of kid that early on, people will make predictions about him playing for Australia and all those kind of things, but it’s so early on that you’ve just got to ride the wave.
"There’s a long, long way to go. It’s a fantastic beginning for him."
Dean is preparing to lead Wests into a Douglas Cup clash with Queanbeyan at Jamison Oval on Saturday as the Christmas break draws near.
But first grade players across Canberra have something else on their radar this week - an expanded Twenty20 Cup will begin on Thursday, with the winner guaranteed a place in a national knockout tournament in Adelaide next March.
CRICKET ACT ROUND NINE
Saturday: Douglas Cup - Ginninderra v Tuggeranong Valley at Kippax Oval, Weston Creek Molonglo v ANU at Stirling Oval, Eastlake v North Canberra-Gungahlin at Kingston Oval, Western District-UC v Queanbeyan at Jamison Oval. All games start at 11am.
