ONE of Tamworth's favourite sons has been described as one of the most promising players to represent NSW.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
or signup to continue reading
South Tamworth Cricket Club's Nathaniel Young received the praise from Cricket NSW after he was selected in next week's National Cricket Inclusion Championships (NCCIC).
Affectionately known as Nat, the 27-year-old will line up among the state's cricketers with an intellectual disability for the fourth annual NCCIC tournament in Geelong.
Read Also:
The week-long tournament will pit the country's best players against each other in twenty-20 matches.
Nathaniel's father Mark said next week's tournament would be his son's first.
"Nat has been playing since he was a kid and really enjoys his cricket," Young told the Leader.
"He has three older brothers and, like all little brothers, he followed them around and into cricket.
"Since then, he has played a lot of cricket for South Tamworth and this is his first crack at a carnival such as this."
After first trialling for the NSW side in October, Mark said his son had been "training pretty hard" to be ready for the tournament.
"We went down in September and October for training and trials before Nat was eventually picked," he said.
"Since he was picked in the side, Nat has done a lot of work sharpening his batting and bowling with Souths.
"He's been really dedicated and keen to do his role for the side."
Before heading to Geelong for the carnival, the Youngs will have one last pit stop in Sydney for a special occasion.
"We are actually attending the Sydney Thunder's Big Bash game on Sunday night, which will be where all the players will be presented with their NSW caps," Young said.
"It's pretty special as it is, but to have something like this added on top of it is just amazing.
"Cricket NSW have really gone above and beyond."
Young said he and Nat were "not setting too many high expectations" for the carnival.
"Given it is the first time Nat has been to anything like this, it is a bit tough to know what to expect," he said.
"We weren't setting any real goals or anything like that.
"However, when you see Nat get a shout out on the Cricket NSW website talking about how promising a player he is, the pressure does get raised a bit.
"We can't get too wrapped up in that.
"All Nat can do is his best, have fun and go along for the ride. It's going to be pretty interesting, but we are all pretty excited."