Bowling rookie on target
Temuka’s Shaun Rooney has been a destroyer with the ball for the South Canterbury senior cricket team this season.
The 20-year-old recent Otago University graduate has bagged 21 wickets in three matches in the Hawke Cup Zone 4 elimination competition since making his debut at this level against North Otago on December 7.
‘‘It’s good, I think they (the opposition) don’t know much about me. It’s good to surprise them,’’ he said.
A medium-pace bowler and handy with the bat as well, Rooney said he had enjoyed opening the bowling, which ensured he got plenty of swing and bounce.
In the drawn game against North Otago he snared 4 for 40 and 3 for 34.
‘‘We played well in patches and held on to get the draw.’’
Things went well for South Canterbury against Southland in Timaru.
‘‘They got first innings points against us, but we managed to get a good total with the bat and then got them out for 120-odd.’’
Rooney took five wickets in the first innings and two in the second.
Against Mid Canterbury, a drawn match in Ashburton, it was a third straight seven-wicket match haul with four in the first innings and three in the second.
Rooney spent four years in the Timaru Boys’ High School First XI and won the Mark Parker Scholarship Award to attend Winchester College in England for a year.
‘‘I had the time of my life over there. It was awesome with the people and the cricket.
‘‘I found the matches – there were two or three a week – was a step up from the local school competition, and the pitches were a lot slower.’’
He has also enjoyed being part of a strong Temuka side in the South Canterbury competition.
‘‘Temuka have always been relatively strong, but we’ve got some good guys and younger guys coming through.’’
Rooney has just graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree, majoring in anatomy. He hoped to begin physiotherapy studies.
As for his cricket?
‘‘Hopefully I will keep playing for South Canterbury. I’ve really enjoyed my first taste of it.’’
With only four points separating the top four teams in Zone 4, a good result against Otago Country in Alexandra on Saturday and Sunday could give South Canterbury a Hawke Cup challenge.
The SC team is:
Daniel Campbell (Star), Taine Cordell-Hull (TBHS), Caleb Donaldson (TBHS), Glen Drake (Temuka), Chris Hogan (Star), Phil Lill (Temuka), George Morgan (Temuka), Jacob Naylor (c) (Celtic), Mark Otley (Pleasant Point), Sam Porter (Celtic), Rooney (Temuka) and Brad Leonard (Timaru).