Ton of fun for son of a gun

Kade Gillingham has wowed the cricketing community at junior country week after knocking 131 runs in his first appearance at the Perth tournament.

The 12-year-old displayed a temperament well beyond his years when he stepped up to the crease to represent Geraldton in the Under-14s division.

The young gun’s concentration and clean technique helped him post an impressive 111-run partnership that gave his side a much needed boost in their winning run chase against Albany on the final day of competition.

Kade’s dad and Wanderers legend Bruce Gillingham said he was rapt with his son’s performance.

“To have a win on the last day was good for them and to put on a partnership like that at his age was really impressive,” Gillingham said.

“He’s got some developing and some strengthening to do but his focus and his performance out there made us really proud — it was a very mature innings.”

Kade was the youngest player representing Geraldton but held his own during the five-day event against opponents who were bigger and more experienced.

“It was a bit scary facing some of the older guys who were a bit faster but I’m really happy and proud with the way I played,” Kade said.

“Being able to play cricket day after day was really fun.”

Kade comes from a healthy cricketing pedigree with his dad Bruce holding just about every record available in the Geraldton Cricket Association A-grade competition.

As well as knocking past 15,000 runs earlier this season, Gillingham holds records for most runs, centuries, 50s and 500-run seasons.

He also captained Geraldton to Country Week success in 2001 — their first triumph since 1933 — and again in 2005.

“I’ve been very lucky in my cricket career so it’s good to be able to share that with (Kade),” he said.

“He has a good mental attitude and that’s been one of my strengths over the years so hopefully he’s inherited that.”