CRICKET - National nod for leg-spinner

Rory Darkins is the most recent Northland cricketer to gain national recognition and, while he was picked as a leg spinner, the 17-year-old has other ideas about his future role.
Darkins left the New Zealand selectors with little option but to include him in the New Zealand under-17 side after an incredible nine-wicket haul against Wellington on Tuesday at the national tournament in Napier.
"Being named in a New Zealand team has always been a goal for me to work towards, so I'm pretty happy to have been named in the squad. Even though it's just a paper team and there are no matches organised, it's still good to know you're on the radar," he said.
With the tournament now over, the bowling all-rounder's self-imposed challenge is to become a genuine all-rounder. This season, he has opened the batting for Whangarei Boys' High School and he will open for the Northland 2nd XI when they play a vital match against Counties-Manukau tomorrow.
"As far as the rest of the season goes, I'm planning to do a little bit of experimenting with my batting and really want to keep on developing that part of my game," Darkins said.
Northland leads the development competition after good wins against Bay of Plenty and Hamilton. A win this week should virtually assure the young team - seven are still in high school and most of the rest are still in their teens - of the ND title.
The captain/coach of the team, Terry Duffin, said Darkins was a valuable weapon against the middle order but, with the addition of his batting talents, he was become one of the cornerstones of the team.
"He's a pretty steady and patient opening batsman, and likes to work it around a lot and accumulate runs rather than rely on any big shots. He's definitely got plenty of promise," Duffin said.
Darkins was one of three spinners named in the New Zealand side along with Wellington's Harry Wright and Canterbury's Theo Van Woerkom.
He said the general feeling among the selectors was that the standard of spin bowling at the Napier tournament was high. The selectors weren't as complimentary about the tournament's opening batsmen and Darkins thinks there will be an opportunity in that role in future for New Zealand.
Northern Districts finished second equal with Central Districts, behind unbeaten Canterbury, who were clearly the best team in Napier.
Counties' batsman Ash Vodnala was the only other ND player named in the tournament selection, with fellow Northlanders Todd Beehre and Curtis Cherrington also missing out. Darkins' 9/32 against Wellington came off 18.4 overs and helped him take the second-highest bag of wickets.
" The Northland 2nd XI for Sunday v CM at Kensington Park are: Terry Duffin (captain), Chris Page, Rory Darkins, Harry Darkins, Todd Beehre, Curtis Cherrington, Ben Hyde, Henry Cooper, Nick Breslin, Matthew Taylor, Gordon Penney, Nathan MacKenzie.