Roebuck in chance to bowl

New and old faces in the bowling attack complement a batting-heavy Young Wanganui XI set to take on the New Zealand Defence Forces tomorrow.

For the game to be played on Victoria Park, coach Dilan Raj has taken a punt on Wanganui High School debutante Sam Roebuck and his left arm orthodox deliveries, which looked impressive at training this week.

"Sam's bowling has matured well and he will have a role to play on Victoria Park No1 if current trends are anything to go by," said Raj.

"If he sticks to his basics, he will be a big part of the spin trio [with Dominic Lock and Henry Collier] who should dominate the overs on Sunday."

Lock will captain the side and look to learn and feed off his vice-captain, Stags professional Ben Smith.

Also shoring up the bowling is Saracen's Ollie Gordon, who makes a welcome return from injury, having gone back to long run-ups in club cricket last week.

Raj said Gordon would be carefully managed in short spells, while his powerful hitting could be handy at the end of the innings.

Collegiate captain Charlie Robson will have a similar role to Gordon and after a successful debut in the national age group tournament he can join others in pressing for similar future opportunities.

John Mcilraith will continue opening the batting in the same mould he created against Young Taranaki last year. Raj said this should complement Morgan Inness really well and hopefully set a foundation for Smith and Collier to build on.

The Young Wanganui XI is:

Brett Cameron (w/k), Henry Collier, Ollie Gordon, Morgan Inness, Dominic Lock (c), John McIlraith, Sam O'leary, Charlie Robson, Sam Roebuck, Ben Smith (vc), Craig Thorpe, Kane Watkins.