Local cricket prodigies: Bowler Mason Clarke, left, and batter/wicketkeeper Hugo Bogue both had their moments at the recent NZ U17 cricket tournament

Two Wakatipu High cricketers showed glimpses of their huge potential at their first national-level tournament recently.

Fast bowler Mason Clarke, 15, and batter/wicketkeeper Hugo Bogue, 14, represented the Otago under-17s at the national U17 tournament in Lincoln, near Christchurch.

Mason took a spectacular 5 for 24 against Canterbury in his first game, a major factor in his side’s seven-wicket win.

‘‘I felt like I just turned up and everything sort of clicked on the day,’’ he says.

Hugo says Mason ‘‘was bowling some serious heat and moving it, it was a nightmare to face’’.

Mason says the tournament was a great learning opportunity, ‘‘it’s definitely different to what I’ve ever played in before’’.

Hugo, who hit a century in a warm-up against Canterbury, had a best score of 65 against Northern Districts, in their last 50-over game, followed by 61 off 47 balls in a one-off, tournament-ending T20 win against Wellington.

‘‘I would have liked to get more runs, but it was a good learning experience,’’ he says.

‘‘Watching some of those batsmen play …they were just solid, and if [the ball] was mildly off perfect, it was at the rope.’’

Hugo created headlines in November when he blasted 295 not out for a Wakatipu High side against a hapless Christchurch school team at
a youth tournament in Oamaru.

He says his North Island opponents at Lincoln hadn’t heard about his feat, ‘‘so they luckily didn’t rip into me about it’’.

Otago, coached by local Gihan Fernando, finished fourth.

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