HAMISH BIDWELL
Chalk one up for the little Napier gravedigger that could. Fledgling Napier Tech fast bowler, and gravedigger, Jeremy Kuru has come from nowhere to be named in the Central Districts Stags team for three two-day matches at Lincoln University, starting tomorrow.
In a decision which Stags selector Scott Briasco described
as "a punt", Kuru has had a last-minute call-up after Brendon Diamanti broke a toe at training on Thursday night.
Kuru's selection caps a meteoric rise for a player, who is far from being a certain starter for the Hawke's Bay team this season.
Briasco said, that with genuine quick bowling being such a rare commodity, he and coach Graham Barlow had decided to fast track Kuru's development by naming him in the side for matches against Auckland, Otago and the New Zealand Academy.
"He's very raw, largely because of the fact that he hasn't much much formal cricket coaching, but you can't manufacture pace and he's got that," Briasco said.
Because Kuru is so inexperienced, even at club level, Briasco said it was a mute point exactly how Kuru would cope against first class players, but the only way to find out was by picking him.
"I think it's a great opportunity for him to become part of the Stags environment and to meet and mix with the guys, and because they're not first class matches, the pressure isn't as intense."
Kuru's club captain Ronnie Turner was stunned by the news but said the elevation to Stags-status was something the fast bowler had been working towards.
"He's definitely the quickest bowler in Hawke's Bay by far and he's had the CD selectors looking at him," said Turner. "We sat down at the start of the season and had a goals session and Jeremy was quite serious about trying to get to that level."
Central Districts Stags: Glen Sulzberger (captain), Peter Ingram, Jamie How, Geoff Barnett, Jarrod Englefield, Ross Taylor, Bevan Griggs, Ewen Thompson, Andrew Schwass, Jeremy Juru, Greg Hegglun, Duncan Cederman.
