BATSMAN Andre McCarthy is a happy camper after scoring his maiden century in first-class cricket.

But he wants to do even more for his team.

The 28-year-old struck 121 in Jamaica Scorpions’ first innings as they swept to a six-wicket win over hosts Trinidad & Tobago Red Force in the third-round Professional Cricket League (PCL) match at Queen’s Park Oval.

“It was nice for me to get my first first-class hundred,” McCarthy told the Jamaica Observer after the team returned on Tuesday.

“I’d like to [score more hundreds], but it is not something I want to stress on. I’m taking things game by game and not trying to put too much pressure on myself. Whenever I go out there to bat, I’ll try to put the team in the best position and once I do that, we’ll get results. It’s just for me to sit down and think about my team and assess whatever the team needs me to play and just do my best,” the middle-order batsman added.

McCarthy, the former West Indies Under-19 representative, has waited long and hard to reach this milestone.

Despite showing plenty of promise as a teenager, he only made his first-class debut in April 2013, and failed to hold down a place in the starting team.

So far this season he has shown consistency.

He was prolific in the Scorpions’ preparation games and has carried that form into the PCL tournament. A usually compact player who is able to score freely either side of the wicket, McCarthy endured agony when he was out for 92 in the Round Two game against Windward Islands Volcanoes at Sabina Park.

A week later versus the Red Force, he finally reached the milestone. The batsman, who plays for Melbourne CC in local cricket, conceded that getting the century was more of a mental battle and one made less difficult due to the help of his teammates.

“I was telling myself that I’m batting well so it was for me to apply myself. Most of the times I got out it was…[was my fault]. I knew what I needed to do and I went out there against Trinidad and I applied it. It was a good team effort and my teammates supported me throughout and I really enjoyed it. I never got too emotional because I was thinking of bigger things,” he said.

Given his work ethic, cricket fans across the region can expect more from the right-hand batsman.

“I like to train, I enjoy training, so if I’m not here [at Sabina Park], I’ll be at Melbourne in the morning jogging. I can’t stay home and lie in bed most of the day, so that’s just me,” he said.

With the win over the Red Force, Jamaica Scorpions moved to second in the standings with 34 points, still some distance behind undefeated Guyana Jaguars (53 points). They are followed by Barbados Pride and the Red Force, who both have 28 points, the Volcanoes (21 points) and Leeward Islands Hurricanes (seven points).