A Chris Rogers tutorial helped Jason Sangha bounce back from a pair in impressive fashion at the SCG, where the teen prodigy confirmed his status as one of Australian cricket's most promising prospects.
Sangha, long considered the next big thing in Australian cricket, top-scored with 117 for NSW on day two of their Sheffield Shield clash with Tasmania.
The 19-year-old and 18-year-old Jack Edwards steadied after a collapse of 4-44, peeling off their first Shield centuries to lift the Blues to a total of 9(dec)-442.
Sangha's eye-catching knock came after starting his maiden Shield season with scores of 12, 33, zero and zero.
"I couldn't have been more relieved to get off the mark," he laughed.
Last week's trip to Canberra, where Sangha scored 38 to help the Prime Minister's XI defeat a South African side boasting the star-studded attack of Dale Steyn, Kagiso Rabada, Lungi Ngidi and Imran Tahir, gave Sangha a chance to reset and refocus.
It also reunited the right-hander with former Test opener Rogers, who mentored him at this year's under-19 World Cup then again during winter at Cricket Australia's training base in Brisbane.
"He's a great guy to talk to about batting. He really knows what he's on about and anything he says to us youngsters is gold," Sangha told AAP.
"He's an extremely good mental coach when it comes to batting. It was good for him to see if there were any changes between my pre-season work compared to now.
"There were a couple of things we spoke about. Nothing too major, just some of the stuff he noticed and we rectified those issues.
"It was not so much about technique. Probably about the cues and words to try to get into your brain. We spoke a lot about rhythm, playing the ball late."
Edwards also praised Rogers' influence during the off-season.
"It was really good ... working with Bucky for a few good months up there, having good facilities and picking his brain," he said.
Australian Associated Press
