School sport: Dykes a player of rare promise

Sean Dykes from Aquinas College is a young man in a hurry.

The 13-year-old member of the Northern Districts under-14 cricket squad, who was disappointed to finish a mere fourth for his age at the national squash championships last year, cannot recall how his road to sporting success began.

"I started at a really young age so I don't really remember," said Dykes. "I've been playing all my life."

Dykes - the only Year 9 member of his school's 1st XI - is brutally honest about his performance at the squash nationals.

"I came number four in New Zealand, but I was quite disappointed by that because I was ranked second. The number three seed beat me, but he was quite good. But in the third and fourth play-off, I can't remember what seed the guy was, I should have beaten him but I just choked."

It is with the leather and willow though that his heart really rests.

"Cricket is my favourite sport by far, but squash is good for fitness and the tournaments are really fun."

Dykes scored the third-most runs of any player in the recently completed Western Bay of Plenty Baywide College Division One competition, and in so doing recorded half centuries against Tauranga Boys' College 3rd XI and John Paul College 1st XI.

His 240 runs from six innings at a competition leading average of 60 earmark him as a player of rare promise, as does the company he keeps at Bay of Plenty cricket coach Ben Williams' cricket academy in Te Puna.

Dykes has been training with Williams' brother Russ since Year 5, rapidly speeding up his development - facing a bowling machine cranked up to 75m/h (120km/h) with a cut-down full sized Tazz bat gifted by the younger Williams will tend to do that.

"It's alright because Russ throws it at me quite quickly in the nets, so I'm used to it. Russ gave me the Tazz as a full size, but I cut the handle shorter so it's not too long because when I went for the cut it got caught."

He loves the chance to play against opponents much older than himself. "It's great, I'm getting quite a few opportunities to bat. I think I'll have to open from now on.

"I like batting three or four, but the thing is the last game when I did open - the first time I had opened - I got a 50 so that's probably put me on the spot."

Dykes, who moved from Zimbabwe with his family at just 3 years old, would like to forge a career in professional cricket.

He plans to put in the hard yards during winter, with a mid-year Northern Districts training camp a key fixture.