But he still hasn’t come off the high of taking out the Arthur Hollis medal for first grade player of the year on Saturday night.

He and many other players and teams were rewarded for the season at the Hastings River District Cricket Association presentation at the Westport Club.

It’s been a magnificent season for Cole, who was part of the Port City Leagues Magpies historic merged team that took out the first grade title.

That was against Macquarie Hotel, and the Pies had a shot at winning the T20 final too, but the match was washed out.

“We were a real short format team, too,” Cole said. “We have a lot of people who could hit the ball well. But it was a pretty good season. We won pretty much everything we could.”

It was made all the more special by the merger of the two clubs at the start of the season.

Cole said the team had the right mix to do well right from the start.

The experience of captain Craig Grant helped the youth of players like Jason Herdegen and Cole. The social side of things was also strong.

“There was never a drama,” Cole said.

It was an eventful season decider for him, too. After smacking a couple of early sixes, he was hit on the head by a Brendan Badenoch bouncer. He was eventually forced to retire hurt.

“I wish it hadn’t played out like that,” Cole, who had scans after some head problems in the weeks after, said. “I was having headaches, and I never get them.”

The medal caps a meteoric rise for Cole, who was playing fourth grade just two season ago.

“I was graded second grade the following season,” he said.

He will definitely be back in 2013/14 to help the Magpies in their quest to defend the title.

But first, the off-season beckons. Well, not really for Cole though as he will line up in the halves with the Settlers Inn Hy-Tec Sharks in the Hastings League.

To check out pics from the night, click the photo below