Theo Opperman scores rapid century for Merrivale

The young Merrivale opener blasted a masterful 134 off 110 balls against Dennington at Harris Street Reserve on Saturday to guide his side to its third win from as many games this season.

Winning skipper Joe Kenna was in awe of the centurion, who hit 15 fours and four sixes.

"I thought Theo Opperman's 100-odd was unbelievable," he told The Standard.

"It was incredible to see some of the shots he was playing. He was in fine form hitting the ball everywhere. It was a good start for him and it was a good start for the team."

Opperman stood tall in windy conditions and was the only member of his team to surpass 18 runs in a total of 242.

The Dogs fell 28 runs short after Jack Lee top-scored with a rapid 63 off 47 balls.

"He just waited for the bad ball and whacked it to China," Kenna said of Opperman's performance.

"He played incredible, it was a pretty impressive knock and it's short straight here, so he knew when to hit straight and when to hit square, it was incredible actually."

Since making his division one debut with the Tigers in 2017-18 while still eligible for under 15s, Opperman had reached 50 on five occasions without reaching triple figures.

Although keen to shift the focus to the team's result, he was pleased by the breakthrough knock.

"It was good, good to get the win though, that's what matters," he said.

."..I suppose it means a fair bit."

The Tigers sit equal first on the ladder with Allansford-Panmure as the only two unbeaten teams left.

Next they play Russells Creek, which suffered its first loss on Saturday - by seven wickets to Nestles.

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