Jodi and Cliff Watson may be 14,000km away, but they'll be following their son Kurtley's every move if he takes to the field with the New Zealand under-19 side in Dubai this afternoon. Photo / Michael Cunningham
Jodi and Cliff Watson may be 14,000km away, but they'll be following their son Kurtley's every move if he takes to the field with the New Zealand under-19 side in Dubai this afternoon. Photo / Michael Cunningham
Having your son 14,000km away is worrying enough, let alone having him represent New Zealand in a World Cup.
Kurtley, son of Cliff and Jodi Watson of Ruakaka, is in the national under-19 team which kicks off its World Cup campaign in Dubai this afternoon.
While it is not yet known if Kurtley will play, his parents are already finding it hard to sleep at night.
"I haven't been sleeping very well because I worry, it's a worry," mum Jodi said of her son's bowling performances, adding that he bowls at vulnerable times in the innings. "Death bowling can be pretty punishing."
For dad Cliff, his role while Kurtley is playing is calming Jodi down as they stare at a computer screen waiting for ball-by-ball scoring to update on cricket website cricinfo.com.
He agreed that following his son's performances in Dubai was going to be frustrating, especially after watching most of his games.
"When he's bowling you see a dot ball [on the website] and then you might see a wide and you're wondering why," Cliff explained. "Waiting for the next one to come up and you're hoping it's a wicket but then it's a dot ball, oh that's okay."
"It's really tense," Jodi chipped in. "I walk away and go lie down. Cliff's calm, I'm shocking."
Although Kurtley has done the hard work in getting selected, the parents of the 19-year-old were weary of having expectations lumped on their son.
Commenting on Kurtley's pathway so far, they noted that - while he was representing the same side Tim Southee did six years earlier - following in his footsteps was still a long way off.
"It's a nice thing to say but I think it comes with a lot of expectation ... It's nice to say he's following his footsteps, [but] it's a big thing.
"At the end of the day it'd be a great thing for Kurtley to aspire to but it's not something that drives him.
"For us, we'd just love to see him go on and make a living out of cricket, even if it's just playing first-class cricket - so long as he's still enjoying it."
On Southee, Cliff and Jodi stole the words from each other's mouths as they explained how helpful the Black Cap had been in helping Kurtley.
Kurtley Watson.
"I couldn't say a bad word about Tim. Right from when he met him he's supported [Kurtley], he's given him some amazing gear," Cliff said, adding that advice from New Zealand's strike bowler was only a phone call away.
Since Kurtley has been in Dubai, his parents have had sporadic contact with their son as his schedule was full.
However, they know Kurtley is able to hold his own - especially after coming back from a difficult debut for the under-19 side last year.
"He's a good young man, he's got a good head on his shoulders," Jodi said, with Cliff adding: "I honestly think he shouldn't have played [in his debut, due to injury]. But, to his credit he came back and had a great series in Darwin [later in the year] and played really well."
Part of that "good head", Cliff said, had come from Kurtley's engagement with several coaches in his development - including Northland coach Stephen Cunis and the Parlane brothers.
Cliff added that if it wasn't for local support from the refinery and Mark and Donna Newman at Stirling Sports then Kurtley wouldn't be where he was today.
New Zealand's opening World Cup match is against Sri Lanka this afternoon.
