Losing almost all their belongings, the family has been left to rebuild physically and mentally from the tragedy.
But from unimaginable hardship, can come a silver lining.
The first on the scene of the Echuca West house fire on Friday night, Liam regrouped and decided he would play on with his BLU teammates on Saturday, despite having lost his cricket kit in the fire.
He was helped by family members and clubmates, who kitted him out with an uniform and equipment, before hitting the field.
And in doing so he created a new memory for the family, Liam leading his Bamawm Lockington United teammates to a resounding nine-wicket victory over Nondies Cohuna.
The teen took a catch during Nondies Cohuna’s inning, but it was his effort with the bat where Liam had the biggest impact.
Liam partnered with Sandun Ranathunga to score an unbeaten half-century, and the winning runs for BLU in front of a home crowd.
BLU president Matt Hamilton said he and his wife, Lisa, were incredibly proud of the way their son had gone about it on Saturday.
“He did a good job for the team and the family,” Mr Hamilton said.
“And the support he got from the team, to have a good day and contribute to the team, was a pleasing side to it all after an eventful Friday night.
“It’s an exciting but sombre win for us, but I think it shows there is life after an event.
“That was pretty important for Liam and the family to think, yes, it’s happened, but life goes on and you still need to put your best foot forward in whatever you do.”
Earlier in the day, a cohesive bowling attack saw Bamawm Lockington United hold Nondies Cohuna to a paltry 99.
BLU pounced on the competition newbies early, sending opener Josh Novoselek back to the rooms for a duck.
Nondies Cohuna tried to get partnerships going, with little success, with Daniel Cooke (29 runs), Patrick Doyle (17) and skipper Rhys Bradley (12) the team’s top-scorers.
But once the fifth wicket fell for 71, Nondies Cohuna had nowhere to hide, losing its remaining wickets for 28 runs.
BLU co-captain Luke Thompson feasted on the Nondies Cohuna batters, nabbing 5-5 from 8.2 overs, while Cody Thompson and Ranathunga helped proceedings by snaring two wickets apiece.
BLU co-captain Joe Holloway said it was the first time this season the team executed its attack entirely to plan.
“We bowled to plan for the full 45 overs and ended up getting Nondies Cohuna for a pretty cheap score,” Holloway said.
“Luke, he opened the bowling and then came back through the middle.
“He probably bowled without a lot of luck in our first few games, but 5-5 from 8.2 overs is a pretty incredible game for him.
“But he was certainly helped by the other guys. All our six bowlers did a really good job.”
Needing a similar bowling performance of their own, Nondies Cohuna got an early scalp in BLU opener Rathika Rajakumara.
But the game was soon all but over, as Hamilton (55 not out) and Ranathunga (40 not out) raced to triple digits in just under 27 overs.
Holloway was full of praise for Hamilton.
“It was a pretty incredible performance for Liam after what had happened, to still front up,” Holloway said.
“It showed a lot of character and grit, and he will be an extremely big asset for us for the rest of the season and moving forward.”
Ranathunga’s efforts also added to his strong start to the season with both bat and ball, after the all-rounder crossed from Huntly.
“It’s been great to get Sandun across at the start of the year and he’s had an unbelievable start to the season,” Holloway said.
“He provides us with a lot of leadership in the field, and when he gets out there to bat, he takes it upon himself to make sure he doesn’t leave too much out there for the rest of us to do.”
Looking ahead to round five, BLU and Nondies Cohuna will battle Echuca South and Moama respectively in the two-day format from Saturday.
Holloway said his team was excited about the return of two-day cricket.
“We’ve got a really good bunch of cricketers at the moment; Liam is a guy who will thrive in two-day, and Cody has been bowling extremely well,” Holloway said.
“Those young kids we’ve been bringing through in the last couple years will really go well in the longer format.”
