Collegiate old boy in the Black Caps

Collegiate old boy Tom Bruce is set to make his international debut against Bangladesh this week.

Tuesday could be an historic occasion for Wanganui Collegiate as one of their old boys is set to make his Black Caps debut in the Twenty20 international series with Bangladesh.

Taranaki and Central Districts batsman Tom Bruce, 25, has been rewarded for dominating domestic cricket in the past two seasons with his inclusion in the 14-man squad, with his form justifying inclusion ahead of veteran Ross Taylor.

King Country born, Bruce boarded at Collegiate in the late 2000's, captaining the First XI and playing for the Wanganui senior representative team in the 2009-2010 summer.

He then attended the University of Canterbury before returning to Taranaki and making his first class debut - impressing last season when he hammered 223 runs at strike rate of 140.25 during the T20 Super Smash, while also being a key figure in the Stags march to the 50-over Ford Trophy.

In the offseason he had a prosperous excursion to Scotland, making runs for the Scottish A team.

Head director of sport Barry Touzel said Bruce will be the school's fourth Black Cap, the first since Whanganui-born pace bowler Andrew Penn played the last of his five one-day internationals in 2001.

"[Bruce] was a big hitter, but he seems to have really developed, so he's an intelligent guy and he's changed his game with [Twenty20] in mind."

"He didn't come through our current [sports programme] system, but he's gone through our modern system where he had a professional coach in Dilan Raj.

"He was closely monitored and he was mentored."

Cricket Wanganui development officer Raj, worked with Bruce at the school's academy, which also included current Stags batsmen Ben Smith as well as former New Zealand Under 19 players Henry Collier and Nick Blundell, although the latter two have not broken into the first class scene.

Touzel said the school was very proud that Bruce had built off those early days at Collegiate and continued to apply himself as a professional.

"He's gone through the roof in the last two seasons."

New Zealand selector Gavin Larsen was quoted that Taylor was not currently in the form required for Twenty20 ahead of some other players, of which Bruce is the leading contender.

He was averaging 76 at a strike rate of 174 for the Stags so far this summer.

Bruce's elevation could serve as motivation for the current crop of Collegiate First XI players, who have improved considerably over the past three years and are currently under the stewardship of representative coach Warren Marr.

Sam Beard, now with Marist, and Connor O'Leary made their senior debuts for Wanganui last summer, while current school captain Angus Dinwiddie played senior level against Taranaki in November.

While Touzel said while those young men were elevated in an era where the current senior talent pool in Whanganui is quite small, it does give Collegiate encouragement that their investment in professional coaches is paying dividends.

The Black Caps play Bangladesh at McLean Park in Napier tomorrow, and then on Friday and Sunday at Bay Oval in Mt Maunganui, with Bruce expected to be in the starting XI at some stage during the series.