Belvoir's Kaiden Withers on that nickname and batting at his best

"I was a big baby, so dad just gave me that and it stuck," Belvoir teenager Kaiden Withers revealed.

"It's weird when people call me by my real name."

Even the Eagles' captain had to do a double take when quizzed on his emerging opening bat.

"I had to have a second think when you said, 'Kaiden'," Drew Cameron offered.

"Even his mum calls him 'Buddha' as well."

And not only is the 17-year-old robust in body, he's also strong in mind.

"His mullet obviously makes him a target for opposition teams and last year we played Corowa and were 4-40," Cameron recalled.

"He was copping it really hard from Corowa, which was arguably the best bowling attack in the comp, but he stood up and got an unbeaten 56 to win us the game.

"Sometimes you'll get cricketers who are technically perfect, but they don't score runs, they don't have that mongrel, he has it.

"(Lavington spearhead) Ryan Brown and the boys were into him when we played on day one (this season), but it just spurs him on, he's a real fighter."

To highlight that 'mongrel' and how important and sometimes underrated it is, the club thought about fixing his technique when he debuted as a 15-year-old.

"We felt we needed to work on his feet because his feet don't move, he just throws his hands through it (the delivery)," Cameron explained.

"As he's progressed, we thought, 'maybe, we'll just let him go', and he's smoking them at the moment.

"We don't want to change too much on a kid at that age."

Withers spent last year floating anywhere between No. 2 and 7 in the batting order, but has immediately made the opening position his own, racking up an unbeaten 57 in that first win over premiers Lavington and following it with a classy 33 against preliminary finalists Albury.

"Without knowing it, people follow him," Cameron suggested of the youngster.

"They're impressed by the way he's so hard to phase, he inspires our boys without even knowing he's doing it.

"People wouldn't recognise him as a leader, but they do and he again showed why when he stood up to 'Hatts' (Corowa speedster Jarryd Hatton) and Ryan Brown, they've played for NSW Country."

One of the common faults for any batter, at any level, is the desire to look ahead, whether it be planning boundary shots or trying to figure where the next run is coming from.

"The quickest I've faced would be Jarryd Hatton," Withers admitted.

"It's just about getting used to the quicker bowlers."

"I have just been trying to get better playing each ball on its merits and trying to stay relaxed while I'm out there, so I can play my shots better."

It's obviously working as the right-hander peeled off six boundaries against Lavington at almost a run a ball.

Apart from Ryan Brown, the Panthers also boast his brother and Riverina all-rounder Nathan, along with fellow Riverina representative Michael Galvin, while quick David Tassell is a long-time O'Farrell Cup player.

In the following game against Albury, which had reigning Cricketer of the Year Ross Dixon in the attack, Withers was forced to play a patient innings, striking his 33 from 47 balls as the visitors crawled to just 9-84.

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The home side then edged home, highlighting how difficult it was to score.

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