First XI captain Connor Stewart has been selected as a non-travelling reserve for the New Zealand Under 19 cricket team, which is heading to Darwin next month.

The tournament is the qualifying route to the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup in Sri Lanka in 2024. 

Assistant coach Paul Wiseman said a high standard of performances at age group national tournaments guided selection.

“We’ve picked players off the back of performances from the Under 19 and Under 17 national tournaments, and the Under 17 cohort in particular boasted a pretty high standard, so it’s great to see a couple of those young guys get this chance.”

Connor, Year 13, is a wicket-keeper batsman and is in his fourth year playing for the St Bede's First XI. He played for the Canterbury U19 team in the national tournament at the start of the year before being selected to train in a wider NZ U19 squad.

We wish him all the best.