Whanganui cricket player Oscar Mabin, 20, has been relishing his experiences with the Central Stags in his debut season.
Whanganui cricket player Oscar Mabin, 20, has been relishing his experiences with the Central Stags in his debut season.
Whanganui representative cricketer Oscar Mabin is relishing the chance to be part of the Central Stags squad in the country’s top domestic competition.
The 20-year-old, right-armed allrounder is the only Whanganui representative in the Stags squad, following the footsteps of Ben Smith, who retired in 2023.
Mabin was selected inthe squad to face the Auckland Aces in the Plunket Shield on November 18-21, playing as 12th man.
He said he enjoyed the opportunity to be around professionals as the youngest member in the squad.
“It was a real cool week, I really enjoyed being around some of the best players in the country and the guys who have been in the Black Caps,” Mabin said.
“The players and coaching staff were so welcoming, they took me in like I’d been there for a while – I didn’t feel like I was a new guy.”
The experience happened fast, with Mabin finding out he had made the squad after his debut for Central Districts A against Northern Districts A the week before.
In that game, he scored 55 off just 46 balls in the lower order.
The biggest thing he took away from his first week with the Stags was the importance of staying consistent and not over-complicating things.
“Cricket is quite a basic sport when you get down to the fundamentals of it,” he said.
Oscar Mabin has been performing well in the Whanganui Central Districts A side this season. Photo / Kiwi TV
Mabin is no stranger to the Central Districts Cricket Association, having represented the Central Districts under-19 side for two seasons.
That recognition came off the back of performing well for Whanganui Collegiate School, where he spent three and a half years in the First XI.
Mabin was raised in Waipukurau, Central Hawkes Bay, before moving to Hereworth School in Havelock North, where he started to play cricket in Year 5.
Mabin said it wasn’t until the back end of his time at Whanganui Collegiate that his “cricket really started to pop off”.
“Obviously, when you are really young, you want to be the best in the world, but I never really thought about taking it seriously until then,” Mabin said.
He was also part of the school’s rugby first XV for two years as a lock.
After graduating in 2023, he represented Whanganui and the Central District U19s while playing for the Havelock North Cricket Club.
This year, the 193cm (6ft 4) athlete tried his luck in rugby down in Canterbury, playing for the Sumner Rugby Football Club premier side and making the wider squad for the Canterbury Cavaliers.
He will return to Christchurch after the cricket season, where he will play for Sumner and continue studying marketing and entrepreneurship at the University of Canterbury.
Mabin said his passion for rugby and cricket is the same, but he has found more recognition playing cricket.
Central Districts Cricket high-performance manager Dave Meiring said Mabin was a highly talented player with X-factor, but given his age, he was still a work in progress.
“He has all the attributes to be a quality cricketer in time, and this opportunity has come a little earlier than we would have anticipated, but we are happy to be selecting a guy in form,” Meiring said.
Injuries to Doug Bracewell, Joey Field, Brett Randell, Curtis Heaphy and Toby Findlayhave paved the way for Mabin’s elevation, where he will remain part of the Stags’ wider training squad on a casual contract.
Mabin hoped to crack the starting eleven this season and take his first wicket.
