NSW Premier Cricket Rd 8: birthday boy Izzy Vumbaca celebrates, Players of the Week
He’s great mates with BBL young guns Ollie Davies and Jack Edwards but few had ever heard of this cricketer until an extraordinary day out on the weekend.
Manly
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Isaiah ‘Izzy’ Vumbaca was so exhausted after one of the most extraordinary days of his young cricket career he was too tired to celebrate his 21st birthday.
A good mate of Cricket NSW rising stars Ollie Davies and Jack Edwards, the Sydney 21-year-old put his celebrations on hold after he made an unexpected century in only his second ever first grade game.
Manly had lost three quick wickets to Campbelltown Camden to be 5-110 when Vumbaca went in on Saturday, adding 103 for the 7th wicket with Elliott Herd.
He was on also on 80 when the 95th and second last over of the day commenced.
“I still don’t really know what to say. It was amazing,” said the Manly Warringah player who earned his call-up with some top recent performances in second grade for the club.
“I came in at seventh. They were really bowling well but it just started to escalate.
“I thought, ‘hang on, something could happen here’.
“I was at 80 and I thought I would just tried to get to 100 before the day finished so I just went big.
“It must’ve been one of those days when everything just comes off.’’
Vumbaca is as a disability support worker who is also studying medical science and law at UTS who came through the NSW Cricket pathway until about 17 where he decided to concentrate on his studies.
“I just love my cricket, loves spending my Saturday’s with my best mates,’’ said Vumbaca, who played his only other first-grade innings last season for two runs. Two T20 innings this season, batting at eight and nine, each produced two runs - one a run out.
“This really did come out of the blue. But I’ve been going pretty well (in second grade). I scored a century a couple of week ago.’’
PREMIER CRICKET PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
#Joining Vumbaca as a NSW Premier Cricket Player of the Week is Aiden Bariol (UTS-NS), who scored his second century of the season, and his career.
#After scoring eight half centuries, the first in 2017/18, Toby Flynn-Duncombe (Blacktown) broke through for his first century. His previous best was 72 earlier this season.
#Veteran Rob Aitken, 49, (UTS-NS) scored 58 to take him to 11274 first-grade runs, past Phil Marks (11250) and into 11th place on the all-time runs-scored list. It was his 67th half-century, eight of which he has converted to centuries.
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