Young Wanganui cricket minds were treated to a visit from the gods last weekend, only to find they were, in fact, just good Kiwi blokes with a talent with bat and ball.
Black Cap Adam Milne, New Zealand's fastest bowler, and Central Districts Stags opening bowler Ben Wheeler were among the guests at last weekend's The Watsons Wanganui Junior Cricket Awards night, but stayed all weekend spending valuable time with the youngsters.
Milne and Wheeler discovered that the Wanganui junior ranks, sponsored by The Watsons, were in fine fettle with a good number of emerging players who could well fill their shoes in years to come.
Dilan Raj from Cricket Wanganui said Wanganui Hawke Cup players Nick Blundle and Henry Collier, both 18, were also on hand to mentor the youngsters and all four hammered home the need to raise work ethics in order to bring out natural talent - a message the kids took on board.
"This is the first time we've done something like this getting Black Caps and first-class cricketers along to the junior awards and it's something we will build on in years to come," Raj said.