Premier Cricket 2021-22: The rise of Ringwood’s Tom Rogers

There’s been plenty of highs for Tom Rogers across the past year, with Saturday’s 200 not-out no exception. Premier Cricket’s form batsman opens up on his rise to the top and aspirations...

There’s certainly no ceiling on what Ringwood’s Tom Rogers could achieve as a cricketer.

The 22-year-old has risen to become Premier Cricket’s top batsman as he continues to put opposition teams to the sword, spearheading the Rams’ resurgence.

A career-best knock on Saturday produced 200 not-out in his side’s 40-run win over reigning premier Prahran, to take his season total to a comp-leading 551 runs.

His double-ton broke Premier Cricket’s highest individual score by a player in a men’s one-day match, surpassing teammate Ian Holland’s 199 not-out record from January 2019.

It’s been some campaign for the opening batsman, with a 109-run performance in Round 1 followed by 118 in Round 5 – and it all comes on the back of a previous season which took in 632 runs and a team of the year gong.

Ringwood’s Tom Rogers is the form batsman of the competition. Picture: Stuart Milligan

Rogers has already featured for Victoria’s Second XI on several occasions after debuting in the futures side in November 2017 – but he says there’s no cap on his aspirations.

“I’d love to play as high as I can and challenge myself against the best players out there,” Rogers said.

“I’m definitely trying to chase cricket and it’s no secret to people that know me pretty well.

“I’d love an opportunity somewhere, and I suppose it’s been about scoring runs, not trying to overthink it and keeping it simple and letting it take care of itself hopefully.”

But there’s been no real secret behind Rogers’ sizzling form.

He simply puts it down to the right mix of mentoring – from Rams legend David King to former Victorian keeper Adam Crosthwaite, who both know a thing or two about making runs – and centuries.

Tom Rogers crossed to Ringwood from Melbourne Uni ahead of the 2019-20 season. Picture: Stuart Milligan

“I’ve got to work with some fantastic people that have really helped me along the way,” Rogers said.

“Guys like David King, Ian Holland, Jackson Freeman and everyone at Ringwood really, from Michael Campbell who captains the Second XI team, he helped me out in my very first session there and helped me love the game.

“I was really lucky to do some work with Adam Crosthwaite, and he changed my life in terms of cricket. He’s phenomenal to work with, and some of the stuff he gave me to work on has absolutely changed the way I want to play and given me a whole lot of confidence.

“I’ve been really lucky to work with the right people I think, and they’ve really understood me.”

A move to Ringwood from Premier rival Melbourne University hadn’t been in Rogers’ arrangements ahead of the 2019-20 season.

He admits he “didn’t have any intention of moving”, until a meeting after the 2018-19 campaign revealed that he wasn’t part of University’s plans.

Ringwood’s Tom Rogers hasn’t looked back since landing at the club. Picture: Stuart Milligan

Now in his third season as a Ram, he hasn’t looked back since landing at Russell Lucas Oval.

“The move was probably the best thing that ever happened to me,” Rogers said.

“I found my love for the game and found I really fit in at Ringwood – I’ve loved every moment there and it’s a really stable club with a great bunch of people.

“But I think the move has worked out well for both (clubs).”

There’s been nobody more thrilled to watch Rogers light it up than Ringwood coach Sean Flynn, who says the Gisborne product is a rare talent.

“Tom’s made six hundreds since I’ve been back coaching, so he’s hitting numbers as a 22-year-old that are possibly unprecedented,” Flynn said.

“I don’t know how many players have made so many hundreds at that age, but I’m pretty excited about watching the rest of his career unfold and I feel pretty privileged to watch what he’s done over the last 12 months.”