Daniel aims for the top
Daniel Rose has his own cricket net at his Tawa home.
The backyard battles he has with his brother are serious – a bedroom window was smashed after an unfortunate deflection recently – but likely not up to the level of intensity at the Juniors World Series indoor cricket tournament he played in last month.
One of the country’s top indoor players for his age, 16-year-old Daniel ended the tournament as the top wicket taker and run scorer, helping New Zealand take out the title.
They defeated Australia in the final by 19 runs, boosted by him and his opening partner getting the run chase off to a flyer.
‘‘It was an awesome trip and we prepared well with training camps, so were probably a bit more ready for the competition than some of the other countries.
‘‘We lost to Australia in pool play, so it was great to knock them over in the final.’’
The lean fast bowler has a busy summer ahead of him, with his Tawa College side seeking promotion to Prem 1 – only three players are year 13, meaning the bulk of the team will return next year.
Daniel also has ambitions to stay in the Wellington agegroup setup and play the occasional game for his local North City club.
The ultimate goal is to be playing for his country at the Under-19 Cricket World Cup in Christchurch in 2014.
Kapi-Mana News has been told Daniel is a great prospect to play premier grade cricket in time.
‘‘Playing for Norths can only improve my game,’’ Daniel says.
The only Wellington player in the New Zealand indoor side, he would love to continue playing this form of the game.
‘‘It’s fast and you can definitely transfer those skills to outdoor cricket.’’