Essex v Australia: Centurion Tom Westley 'had luck on his side'
Last updated on .From the section Cricket
Essex batsman Tom Westley believes he was lucky to reach a hundred against Australia at Chelmsford.
Westley made 144 on day two, continuing his form from the County Championship in which he is averaging 58.17.
"I felt for their bowlers. I must have nicked a few through third slip and gully and played and missed," the 26-year-old told BBC Essex.
"But it's nice to have luck on your side - to get another hundred and hopefully I can get a few more."
Westley opened the batting after Nick Browne suffered a suspected dislocated finger, and the Cambridge-born batsman's knock included 24 fours and a single six.
He shared a stand of 214 with Ravi Bopara (86 not out) as Essex closed on 299-3, 263 behind.
And Westley said his side need to keep making large scores as they look to improve their current fifth position in Championship Division Two, 66 points outside the promotion places.
"(Former Essex captain) Graham Gooch and Alistair Cook always talk about big hundreds," he said.
"In the changing room we've talked about if we play on better surfaces, because to be honest the surfaces haven't been great so far this season, we want our batsmen to get bigger hundreds."
