Michael Hill
YOUNG MEN IN A HURRY
Having just returned from overseas, Michael Hill was glad to get back down to the Albert Ground and prepare with his Melbourne teammates for the upcoming Premier League finals.
The 19-year-old allowed himself some lounge room time watching Australia's sudden death one-day final against the Indians, but is keen to finish the most memorable season of his life so far as strongly as possible.
Included has been his first senior century with Melbourne -- 123 not out against Footscray at the Albert Ground in mid-year -- as well as the honor of captaining the Australian Under 19s during the last few weeks.
"It was a great experience and entirely different conditions and weather to what we were used to," he said. "It added another element to it all and made the cricket even tougher for us."
While the Aussies failed to make the top four, Hill made 124 in the first game, underlining his reputation as the finest teenage batsman in Victoria.
He said many in the Sri Lankan and Pakistan teams had already played first-class cricket and the extra experience gained was crucial in the results.
"They were very classy looking players," he said.
Hill says he has changed his own game a little this summer, being more patient at the crease and more prepared to use his feet.
"Compared with last year I've done okay," he says. "I've tried to play well and really get my feet moving."
The World Cup was his last official fixture in under-age cricket. Now he is a fully-fledged open-age cricketer and enjoying the prospect of furthering his experiences.
Asked how he felt playing against men full-time, he said it was both daunting and appealing and doing well added an extra degree of satisfaction.
Originally from Diamond Creek, he was a sub district first XI player at 14 (at Ivanhoe) and first played in Melbourne's first XI at 17.
He says his development has been fast tracked by his time at the Centre of Excellence in Brisbane where hell return for a second stint in April after his Melbourne club commitments finish.
He says he has loved his diet of cricket every day and hopes his game can further blossom leading into the 2008-09 season when he'll be 20.
Hill says his parents Geoff and Sharon have played a major role in his development, with their constant encouragement and time spent in driving him from venue to venue.
