Devon Conway, the South Africa-born batsman who shifted to New Zealand a few months ago, can't wait more to make his international debut, according to his Wellington Firebirds coach Glenn Pocknall.
The 28-year-old left-hand batsman was recently cleared by the ICC to represent New Zealand from August 28 2020.
Pocknall's Wellington side possess some exciting players capable of winning matches on their own. Jimmy Neesham, Tom Blundell, Hamish Bennett, and Devon Conway have all showed there skill by producing some outstanding performances in those title wins.
Speaking exclusively, Pocknall said, “The beauty of the side is we are always evolving and in amongst some of the best cricketers in New Zealand we have some hard working experienced players getting better at a rapid rate”.
"The team is waiting till they can get access to training facilities so they can look to start preparing for next season. It’s just a wait and see approach at the moment, hopefully we can get back to work soon”.
In 1986 at the age of eight Glenn Pocknall dreamed of playing cricket and rugby for New Zealand. The backyard was the place where these dreams were created and lived.
Then one morning he woke to pain all through his body and could not walk, “It was an extremely frightening feeling not knowing what was wrong” Pocknall said.
He spent the next few months visiting specialists all throughout the country trying to figure out what the issue was. “My main memory was not being able to walk, my mum and sister having to carry and bath me. But the most vivid part was having to sit on the ground while my friends played sport in my backyard while I could only watch”.
It was another 8 months until he was better from what eventually diagnosed as rheumatoid arthritis. This experience drove him to make the most of opportunities that came his way and why now he is so grateful for having a career as a successful cricket coach.
Pocknall who was an Assistant Coach with the team for six years (2013-2018) and is now the one in charge of the Wellington Firebirds and is ecstatic “When I started out coaching 17 years ago I always had a dream of being part of achieving something special with Wellington” he said.
This past season there’s been quite a lot of success with the side winning the Dream11 Super Smash title and the Plunket Shield title. On top of this he has led the Wellington Firebirds team to all 3 domestic titles on offer in New Zealand in the space of fifteen months. “When it gets put into perspective it’s hard to fathom. I was a supporter and fan for the Wellington team when they didn’t win anything for 10 years so to be involved now and the team wins three, let alone one, it’s quite surreal”.
You get the sense that Pocknall and the Firebirds will be itching to get back into cricket very soon.
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