It's not always advisable to send boys to do men's jobs but when the lads emulate the feat of grown-ups then it must be a fillip for the collective.
While 18-year-old Josh Clarkson stood staunch in getting the Devon Hotel Central Districts over the line on Wednesday with an unbeaten 68 from 48 balls in their three-wicket win over Mondiale Auckland Aces in New Plymouth it's time for the relatively more seasoned batsmen to man up in their Georgie Pie Super Smash Twenty20 campaign.
"We're still playing in bits and pieces," CD Stags coach Heinrich Malan said last night before they reload against the smarting Aces at Eden Park Outer Oval in Auckland in a televised match on Sky from 1.10pm tomorrow.
No 9 Marty Kain, not out 19, had forged a nail-biting partnership with No 7 Clarkson after the top-five CD batsmen had come and gone with not a single one of them getting into double figures.
Striving to play no-holds barred cricket, Malan, said, remained the underlying theme for his troops.