PORT ADELAIDE defender Tom Clurey has put his middle order heroics in Sunday’s Bushfire T20 Showdown down to having a good bat.

Clurey smacked 22 off four balls in one Kane Richardson over before the Australian paceman grabbed his wicket when the big man was on 29.

It was part of a good contest between the professional cricketers and the AFL players that saw Port Adelaide prevail over Adelaide by 14 runs after posting a mammoth total of 7/231 off its 20 overs.

Clurey said at one stage the Power players were joking that they were on target to break the T20 scoring record, but he was modest when asked about the secret to his efforts with the bat.

“Nothing too serious,” he told RSN Breakfast.

“I used one of Travis Head’s bats so I think that definitely helped the ball go a bit further and get over the fence.

“I think (Richardson) was holding back a fair bit. After I hit the first one or two, I was expecting a short ball to the body but he went straight at the stumps.

“I’m sure if he wanted to, he could have cranked it up a bit

“It was good fun. I was a bit scratchy early so it was good to get onto a few at the end.”

The game saw eight AFL players in each side along with four male cricketers, one female cricketer, one CFS volunteer and a 13^th man who won the role in an auction.

Clurey admitted to some nerves at playing in front of a 34,219-strong crowd at Adelaide Oval for the fundraiser, which raised more than $1 million for the SA Bushfire Appeal.

 “It was a bit of a weird feeling. Rocking up to the game I was probably more nervous than for a footy game because of the unknown and the first time because I’m not used to playing cricket,” he said.

“When I play cricket back at home it’s usually in front of about ten people so to be playing in front of 30-odd thousand was awesome but a weird feeling at the same time.”

The resolute full-back is now eager to switch his full attention to footy with Port Adelaide's intra-club match just eleven days away.

“It’s a pretty exciting time, obviously January’s done now and that’s when it can be a bit of a grind,” Clurey said.

“But the next month or five weeks is when it really starts to crank up and when you get excited because games are only just around the corner.”

Clurey said he was most excited about the development of the club’s young players including Connor Rozee’s improved fitness.

But he also singled out first-year forward Mitch Georgiades for making a strong early impression.

“He can play, and unfortunately I’ve had to play on him a few times at training,” Clurey said.

“It’s a bit scary because he thinks he’s Russell Robertson – every time he tries to sit on your head!

“He’s pretty exciting, the way he gets to the ball, I think he’ll be a serious player as time goes on.”