The beginnings

This is Oscar. At about 18 months he started watching cricket with me in our little Mt Eden flat. He started imitating the cricketers and their shots so I took him along to the NZ vs Zimbabwe T20i at Eden Park in February 2011. Oscar stayed till the end and was transfixed by the game, loving the ebb & flow and the roar of the crowd. 

In the interval I bought him a kids Black Caps hat and a miniature 'autograph' bat -  and then the love affair really began.

We had plenty of soft balls at home and Oscar immediately began hitting them around the lounge with gusto and grace. I started rolling them along the ground but he insisted I 'bowl' to him. The result was a magnificent recreation of true batting and real cricket shots, by a two year old! 

While he's still a bit impetuous with a bent for the leg-side heave (think more Dan Vettori than Jesse Ryder though) he can unfurl the most graceful cover drive you could ask for.

Oscar's an all rounder though., A left handed batsman, he prefers to bowl right handed - ala Jacob Oram. There's a bit of a bent arm tendency, but I figure he'l grow out if this.

You might think I'm driving him hard to play, improve and get his eye in, but I can swear it's Osc that comes to me with bat & ball in hand begging for 'Crick-it'.

As we draw closer to Cricket World Cup 2015, I have hatched a plan toy take Oscar to as many CWC matches here in NZ as the bank balance will allow. We're planning on all the Black Caps matches (Tickets allowing!) and any others at Eden park that we can fit in. 

Yes, there's a chance of cricket burn-out, but I'd rather die trying than let a chance like this pass us by.