Cricket: Napier Technical Old Boys player Todd Watson picks up man-of-the-tournament award

NTOB cricketer Todd Watson was named man of the tournament at the NZCT National Club Championship in Auckland on Sunday. Photo/supplied

When Todd Watson went in to bat, also figuratively speaking, for the collective but came away with the individual accolades for his back-to-back national champion Napier Technical Old Boys team in Auckland yesterday.

"It's nice to be able to contribute to the eventual win and to have all the boys supporting me and letting me do my job, which was bloody amazing," Watson said soon after the Innovative Electrical-sponsored team arrived at the Hawke's Bay Regional Airport in Napier this afternoon.

The 20-year-old right-arm medium/fast bowler claimed the man-of-the-tournament award with 13 wickets, including two four-fors, and scoring 50-odd runs at No 7 where he lost his wicket only once in five outings.

"For me the fact that we won it [the crown] was probably the greatest thing that came out of all of that," he said.

Watson, who received a 2019-20 season Kahuna Pro Players Kookaburra bat and a medal, felt his success with the ball was from "hitting a hard length" to find consistency on a healthy dose of patience.

"I made the batters change rather than me having to change too much because they almost got themselves out, thinking they had to do something different," said the Complete Paints employee.

The Jesse Ryder-coached Texans, with Liam Rukuwai at the helm as captain with four current or former first-class players in the mix, retained the NZCT National Club Championship crown at the Cornwall Cricket Club park yesterday after beating undefeated round-robin side St Albans (Canterbury) by five wickets on a wicket that demanded patience and discipline from batsmen and bowlers in the grand final.

Veteran allrounder Bronson Meehan's career-maiden, five-wicket bag haul and 27 not out with the willow punctuated the victory for the Central Districts champions who had lost by 27 runs to St Albans in the week-long tourney last Thursday.

For Watson it's also going to be a game of patience, summer in, summer out, because of the plethora of new-ball merchants in the NTOB equation.

"It's pretty hard in a team of those like Ruks [Rukuwai], who's amazing with the new ball, and Stevie [Smidt] who also is a gun.

"No matter what, I think we have like four people who can do that job so it's pretty cool."

The former Napier Boys' High School pupil said at No 7 he had the credentials to embark on an allrounder's path.

"I like to bat and I also like to bowl so I'm pretty lucky to be able to contribute because if my batting doesn't come off I can do something with the ball [and vice versa]," said Watson who, ironically, was a top-order batsman in the early years at NBHS.

The former Onekawa Primary and Tamatea Intermediate School pupil decided to bowl fast and channelled his energy into it and, amusingly, saw the leather eclipse the willow.

"It's cool to have a goal like that and then see the results come."

Watson said it was immensely satisfying to pick up an award to cap off a "amazing" season, including the CD A campaign as well as helping the Pay Excellence Hawke's Bay senior men's side lift the Hawke Cup, albeit it lose it in their first defence a fortnight later last month.