Will Graham made an appearance for a Canterbury Select XI last week, and will have the challenge of captaining the Ashburton College 1st XI in the return to division one. Photo supplied.Mid Canterbury cricketer Will Graham made a big step forward in his cricketing goals after appearing for a Select Canterbury XI against a New Zealand under 19 side last week.

The Ashburton College 1st XI captain was asked to join the side after participating in the Canterbury under 18 winter training squad.

“At the start of this year I was selected to join the squad and me and another guy from it were asked if we wanted to play in the game against a New Zealand side,” he said.

“It was a bit of a shock.

“It was only a week before so I didn’t really get the chance to think about it.”

Considering himself a bowling all-rounder, Graham did not get a chance with the bat after the Canterbury side won by three wickets, but did pick up a wicket.

“I was pretty chuffed with that,” he said.

During the winter training programme, Graham travelled to Christchurch two to three times a week for trainings.

“We would work on technique, fitness and mental stuff, it was mainly about getting ready for the season,” he said.

While the Year 13 player has his sights set on playing premier cricket in Christchurch next year, he still has the task of leading AshColl in their return to division one of the schools competition for the remainder of the year.

“It is going to be hard. It is not really about winning or losing but it is about us senior guys using our experience and stepping up to show the younger guys what it is like as it has been a few years since the College was up there,” he said.

On a personal level, Graham has his sights set on spending plenty of time in the first class cricketing world.

“I want to make it into the Canterbury under 18 team this year and go to the national tournament, and also eventually work my way up into the Canterbury team and stay there for a few years,” he said.

“Of course everyone wants to play first class cricket and play for the Black Caps one day.”

By Jaime Pitt-MacKay © The Ashburton Guardian - 11 October 2017