Oak Tree’s rising cricket talent.

He juggles his work with study and a promising cricket career, which has seen the Old Boys’ Collegians premier grade seam bowler attract the attention of the Canterbury Kings.

Late last year he got the chance to have a crack with the ball against the Black Caps, which only reinforced his belief he can become a professional sportsman.

The rare opportunity came when he was asked to be a net bowler ahead of the first test of the New Zealand versus England series at Hagley Oval in Christchurch. He was originally slated to roll his arm over against the likes of England stars Ben Stokes and Joe Root, who instead opted to face spin bowling.

Rather, he found himself charging in to test Darryl Mitchell, Glenn Phillips and Devon Conway among others.

“It was good, watching the way they go about things,’’ Matt says.

“It’s a good blueprint and it was good to be around. It’s a great example and at the same time I think it’s not something that’s out of reach to be at that level and go through that level of prep. It puts it into perspective that it is achievable.’’

Matt, who is studying law at the University of Canterbury, says he got a little bit of feedback from the Black Caps players and some advice from the team’s coaches, which he was thankful for.

The Canterbury under-19 representative was also in the mix for the Canterbury A side at the back end of 2024, but injury curtailed his chances. He’s also been training with the Canterbury Kings, so a senior provincial Twenty20 or List A (one-day) debut may not be too far away.

“I would like to play cricket professionally and I would like to make a career out of it. I do tend to avoid having specific material goals because I think if you draw a line in the sand and you fall short of it, you’re disappointed and if you get to it you’re almost putting a roof on yourself. I guess after 10 years I don’t want to feel like I could have made it further than I did. If I play a brief career for Canterbury and can’t hack it but I did my best, I’m happy. If I have a great career and play for the Black Caps, I’m also happy. As long as I feel right by myself and put the work in.’’

Matt has shown the kind of commitment to his work and cricket we love to see at Oak Tree and as an important member of our team, we’re excited to see how his respective careers progress. We’re all cheering for you!  

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