Can Eamonn Vines crack 1000 runs this season?

Cats skipper Eamonn Vines is coming off an unbeaten innings of 132 off 232 balls in 322 minutes 

Eamonn Vines is having a stellar season and is closing on in a 1000 run season sitting on 850 runs at an average of 56.7!

His last five scores have been 62, 66, 100, 71 and now 132 no.

GEELONG skipper Eamonn Vines has credited former Australian batsman David Hussey for the rich vein of form that has him on brink of selection for Victoria’s Sheffield Shield team.

Vines, who blasted a matchwinning century against St Kilda on Sunday, said Hussey had been instrumental in his development from a regular Premier batsman to a player banging down the door of first-class cricket

“I’m in pretty good touch at the moment,” Vines said.

“I’ve played pace bowling the best I have throughout my career and I credit that to the work I did in the pre-season with Victoria and also the coaches I have at Geelong.

“I had a 16-week program with the Futures Academy and Huss and I worked closely and he’s helped me massively.

“Huss is a really positive person, and when your having your first couple of hits in the pre-season, I can get really negative, but he always thinks about the positives and how you go about it now and in the future.

“We did a lot of hard work, I’m reaping the rewards and hopefully I can keep going.”

Having worked his way back into the Victorian second XI for the clash against ACT, Vines is now a near certainty to line-up against South Australia.

But the 23-year-old continues to kick himself over his last dismissal for the Bushrangers, believing it could have been costly in the long run.

“I missed out,” Vines admitted.

“I was 48 not out at lunch and I hit a four and went out. The discussions I had with the coach is that if I want to push my case for Sheffield Shield for Victoria, I need to make big hundreds.

“I was able to execute that in club cricket, so it was a pretty pleasing thing to come out this innings.”

Belting 850 runs at 56.67 runs this season, Vines revealed Hussey and development coach Jarrad Loughman were pleased with his progress.

“They’ve been really positive about the way I play,” he said.

“I did a big pre-season at the Futures Academy and we worked on a lot of things and since then I’ve been able to execute 50s quite consistently.

“They reiterated that I’m moving forward and back really well, but it’s now got to the stage where I need to make big hundreds and push it to the next level, Shield cricket.”

With Travis Dean and Marcus Harris firmly entrenched at the top of the Bushrangers’ top order, opener Vines admits a Shield call up is a “little bit off”.

“What Victorian cricket has shown in the last few years is that if you make run, you get an opportunity and you go places,” he said.

“Travis Dean is the perfect example. Three years ago he was just playing Premier cricket and he made big runs, got his chance and now he’s a sure thing in Shield cricket.

“But I’m still a step away because I need to play well in Futures cricket, but I know if I get the runs I get the chance.”

With a handful of Bushrangers on international duties in India, Vines remains a slight chance to gain a Shield spot before season’s end.