One of Cricket Albury-Wodonga's most promising juniors has claimed a national title.
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Wodonga' Raiders' Jack Stewart played in Victoria Country's win over Queensland last week at the Australian under 15 championships in Ballarat.
"The kids nicknamed him The Finisher for the week," assistant coach Stephen Brodie said.
Stewart played a crucial innings against ACT in the final round.
Country was third in Pool A with only the top team contesting the grand final.
However, Country was handed a lifeline when the top two - Victoria Metro and NSW Magenta - fell to Tasmania and Western Australia respectively.
"We needed 36 runs off 32 balls, we didn't want to excite the kids about what was going on, but we could see what was happening on the phone so the coach and myself were texting each other," Brodie said.
"We got to the stage where we just had to get a bonus point so we sent a message out at drinks and just got a nod from Jack and he just took it to another level."
Most cricketers will tell you retaining your composure under pressure is difficult and Stewart's calmness received a tick from selectors.
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And he displayed another vital trait in all team sports.
"He got 43 (from 39 balls) against Tasmania and then ran himself out because he was more about the team than himself," Brodie said.
"He could have easily been selfish and batted for a couple of overs to get himself a 50, but our ethos for the week was we before me and Jack really adopted that to put the team before him."
The all-rounder missed selection in the Cricket Australia team after finishing with 101 runs at 25, a strong effort considering he batted between six and nine, and snared six wickets at 18, opening the attack and then bowling at the death.
"He just needs consistency with the ball, limit his extras and do the same thing with the bat," Brodie said when quizzed on Stewart's aims.
