Premier Cricket 2020-21: Carlton’s Nick Ross rescues Blues with century

Carlton’s star middle-order batsman discusses his red-hot form after posting an eighth Premier Cricket century.

Carlton’s Nick Ross is enjoying a fine summer. Picture: Arj Giese

Nick Ross is a man for a crisis.

Not for the first time this season, Ross on Saturday performed a successful rescue act for Carlton in Premier Cricket.

In a familiar tale, he had a willing ally in fellow star middle-order batsman Tom Smyth.

The pair came together with the Blues 3-42 in their away clash against Camberwell Magpies.

With guns Brayden Stepien (18), Mackenzie Harvey (17) and captain-coach Evan Gulbis (4) all departing cheaply, much again depended on No.5 Ross.

The 30-year-old, who has been at Carlton since 2006-07, responded with a brilliant knock of 130 not out from 134 balls.

He cleared the boundary five times and hammered a dozen boundaries to post a second century for the season.

Smyth contributed 94 from 96 deliveries, highlighted by nine boundaries and three sixes.

The duo put on 186 for the fourth wicket as the Blues put up 4-293 on their way to a comfortable 77-run victory.

Ross had a philosophical take on his ability to perform under pressure.

Nick Ross grabs a catch for Carlton. Picture: Arj Giese

“If you want to be a good sportsman, you’re going to be faced with lots of tough moments, so you’ve got to enjoy them,” Ross said.

“You’ve got to really want to apply yourself through them. I do and I really enjoy batting with Tom, so we enjoy that challenge together.”

Ross and Smyth have made a habit of producing game-changing partnerships this summer.

In Round 5 against Essendon, they both made tons in a 223-run stand which lifted Carlton from 3-30 to 280.

Against Richmond the following week, they came together at 3-63 and put on 135 as the Blues posted 7-273.

They are also the club’s two most prolific batsmen in 2020-21, Smyth plundering 426 runs at 60.86 and Ross 407 at 81.40.

Carlton’s Tom Smyth. Picture: Kylie Else

“Always good to get in those tough situations and get the club out of it,” Ross said.

“Some days are good and some days are a bit more difficult, but it was really good to be able to work together with Tom and get a good partnership.”

While Carlton boasts a star-studded line-up, Ross deserves recognition.

The weekend’s century was his eighth at First XI level and he has established himself as a reliable run-scorer in the middle-order.

Ross said former coach Warren Ayres and Gulbis “really instil a good confidence and really want to you to back yourself”.

“That’s probably been one of the main reasons, nothing specific,” he said of the reasons behind his improvement.

“More just that confidence, knowledge in your game and having good coaches around you.

“Over the last couple of years specifically, I think I’ve really been pretty consistent and that’s the most satisfying thing.

“Lots of young players, you probably don’t make as many runs as you would have liked to at the start, but often clubs keep giving you the chance and I think that’s probably the nicest thing. To continue to perform for the club now is important for me.”

Matt Wilson (3-40), Smyth (2-22) and Gulbis (2-30) fired with the ball to secure the win over Camberwell.

Carlton is sitting pretty on top of the ladder with an 8-2 record as it chases a second flag in three seasons.

“The team’s going really well,” Ross said.

“I think we’re in a good position and everyone’s performing at points in time, which is always nice.

“We have a good belief that we’ve got 11 match-winners in our side, so I think that really helps as well.

“Coming up against the opposition, we know there’s someone in our side that week in, week out is going to be able to perform and almost win the game for us. That’s really nice to have.”