Hard work pays off for Scorpions veteran Walton

Jamaica Scorpions' opening batsman Chadwick Walton looked anything but his 38 years on Thursday, as the right-handed batsman rolled back the years to stroke a magnificent century to lead the hosts against the Combined Campuses and Colleges (CCC).

When stumps were drawn, the Scorpions had gotten to 259 for six, replying to the CCC's 307, and that strong reply was attributed squarely to Walton's highest first-class score of 163, which came off 245 balls and included 16 fours and five sixes.

The veteran player, who made his first-class debut in 2008, said the hard work that he has put in with coach Robert Samuels before the season is finally paying off after having a modest start to the season, where he scored four and 20 against the Windward Islands Volcanoes in the opening round.

"I returned to the drawing board, and that work seemed to pay off. What I have been doing is just sticking to the simple things for longer. That seems to be the formula because I have not played a lot of four-day cricket, but it's good to be amongst the runs," said Walton.

Walton hinted that the innings of CCC captain Jonathan Carter sparked his aspirations as both players are well in their 30s, with Carter being 36.

Carter hit an unbeaten 135 in CCC's first innings, which led to CCC getting more than 300 runs.

Walton, who has represented more than 14 international teams, said his long innings, which lasted close to six hours, is a testament to his fitness, and he is hoping to carry on even longer.

"The body is still holding up and going strong. I will assess game by game to see how it is going, but for now, I still feel like I am about 23," said Walton jokingly.

Walton's sixth first-class century means he has now passed 4,000 runs.