Whanganui has a new rising cricket star with Collegiate old boy Joel Clark gaining selection in the Central Districts Under-19 side.
Clark, who has only just finished his final year at Whanganui Collegiate School, played a pivotal role in CD's second place in the national U19 tournament at the Lincoln University High Performance Centre in Christchurch just last week.
Coached by Jarrod Englefield (Marlborough) and Chad Law (Horowhenua Kapiti), the CD side is made up of 13 players from the Hawke's Bay, Manawatu, Whanganui, Taranaki, Nelson and Marlborough regions that make up the CD catchment. There are also three non-travelling reserves.
To gain selection is a major achievement with many talented players within the age group across the region. Whanganui have not had a player selected for a few years but Clark's name now can join the likes of Ben Smith, who has gone on to higher honours with the CD Stags, Henry Collier, who also made the national U19 squad in his year and fellow Collegiate old boy Nick Blundell.
The current CD team were runners-up to Canterbury in the six-day national tournament last week.
Clark has, over many years, shown a great deal of promise with his leg-spin bowling and was opening batsman for Whanganui Collegiate School before finishing school and joining club side Property Brokers United, where he is continuing to develop his craft in the Coastal Challenge Cup competition.
