After toiling in the league for some 16 seasons, Jermaine Postlethwaite finally earned entry into the exclusive centurion club last weekend.

A key player in Western Stars' early batting order, Postlethwaite made the most of a mediocre Social Club attack to hit a fine, unbeaten 102 as the St. John's Road club retained their Central Counties title by 225 runs.

And now the 31 year-old former Cleveland County player is hungry for more success with the willow.

"I guess you could say that it's a relief," said Postlethwaite. "Scoring a century is not something that I actually worried out because I always thought that it would eventually come sooner or later."

In the process, the hard-hitting batsman also silenced some of the local hecklers - his colleagues at Stars who he admitted often gave him a good "ribbing" whenever he failed to reach the magical triple digits.

"That's one of the better things that occurs at Stars," he added. "It is very competitive and therefore it helps to bring out the best in a lot of the players.

"There was some ribbing going on but it was more as an incentive to get me to strive for better things. However, the challenge and competitive environment is always beneficial at the end of the day."

While skipper Albert Steede uses the intensity of squash to help him in his cricket development, Postlethwaite - a guidance counsellor at CedarBridge Academy - has his own trump card, often incorporating some of the psychological aspects of his trade into his game.

Postlethwaite studied as an under-graduate at North Carolina A&T University in Greensborough before acquiring a masters degree at Florida State.

"Cricket is very much a mind game," he said. "And a lot of the tactics are transferable. Realistically when you are talking about concentrating and sort of blocking out different things or even just implementing a certain level-headedness, those skills definitely come into good use."

While not harnessing any immediate desire to either play in Cup Match or fight for a spot on the national team, Postlethwaite remains committed to helping Stars in their bid to regain domestic prominence - something that they forfeited to St.David's last season.

"That's always been on the cards. We always try to win every competition that we compete in. That's our goal from jump.

"Cup Match has never been one of my major goals. I've never paid my dues. It may be in my future, if it falls that way, but it's nothing that I have planned.

"I feel quite content right now playing at Stars because I thoroughly enjoy the environment."