He faced 404 balls across more than 10 hours in the middle, hitting 19 fours and a six, before calling time on his innings having been part of a 270-run opening stand with Ashley Chandrasinghe.
Pucovski, who made his Test debut against India in January 2021 but then required shoulder reconstruction, had last season disrupted by further bouts of concussion – a problem which has been a theme throughout his career.
He has recently returned from a training camp at the MRF Academy in Chennai and is now looking primed for the start of Victoria’s season later this month. It begins with the Marsh Cup on September 23 then their Sheffield Shield campaign begins on October 6 against South Australia.
“I have a lot of processes in place, and a lot of awesome people around me to help me through that. Ideally you don’t get hit that often, but that’s part of the game. Sometimes it’s just about dealing with it and taking it as it comes.”
Pucvoski averages 51.63 in first-class and during the first part of the 2020-21 Sheffield Shield he made back-to-back double-centuries.
A strong start to the season could put Pucovski back in contention for the Test team should a batting vacancy arrive and fellow Victorian Glenn Maxwell was delighted to see him in the runs.
“Pretty happy for him, he’s a good egg,” Maxwell said at the launch of Australia’s T20 World Cup kit. “I was at the pre-season stuff with him a few weeks ago before we went away and he looked in really good spirits, pretty happy with how his pre-season has gone and he was just excited to get back into it.
“Said he absolutely loved [the India camp]. Will’s a cricket nuffie, he loves soaking up new information, trying new things and for him to go over there is going to be great for his game. Hopefully it’s a good sign of things to come for this summer because with him going well it’s really exciting for Australian cricket.”
Chandrasinghe, who has yet to make his first-class debut, is another player to keep an eye on this season. He was the leading run-scorer in the 2nd XI competition last season and scored five centuries in a row playing premier cricket in Darwin during the winter.
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