WILL Shortridge is a big lad for his age, but the 16-year-old produced a gigantic performance for Kelvedon & Feering II on Saturday.

Will, who stands 6ft 5ins tall, hammered 13 sixes and 17 fours in an incredible innings of 213 not out after facing just 123 balls against Bury St Edmunds III.

He set a new club record for the highest individual score, and also rewrote a series of records for the Marshall Hatchick Two Counties Championship.

He added 346 in an unbroken third-wicket stand with Mal Wilde which is the highest partnership recorded in the Championship’s 40-year history.

Will said: “I was a bit nervous getting to 100, but after that I just went with it. My previous highest score was 102.

“It was a fantastic feeling to get my double century.”

He lives in Kelvedon and has just started Sixth Form College in Colchester. He has been playing cricket since the age of eight, and has been involved in the adult team for the past four seasons.

But Saturday marked his coming-of-age with a totally dominant performance. He came to the crease with Kelvedon 41 for two in 10 overs.

He had a slice of luck when he was dropped when he had scored just nine. It was to prove to be an expensive mistake by the visitors.

In the next 10 overs he helped Wilde to push the total up to 117 for two and then cut loose over the closing 25 overs.

With the veteran Wilde playing a typical sheet anchor role Shortridge looked to up the scoring rate. He hit his first six came when he was on 41 and passed his half-century as the ball started to fly to all corners of the ground and onto and over the railway line.

Will reached his hundred in the 32nd over, having faced 72 balls, and two overs later he had 130 to his name.

Onlookers were concerned when the 44th over arrived with Will on 198 not out and his partner Wilde on 99 not out.

But neither were to be denied.

Will hit the first ball for six to complete his double hundred, and added a two before a single gave Wilde the strike.

The ever-watchful Wilde secured the single needed for his own century and fittingly Will added another six as the Kelvedon innings closed on 387 for two – a new high for Division Five.

Wilde’s 100 not out came from 101 balls and in total the pair batted together for just 158 minutes to score 346 runs.