First came the nerves.
Then came the excitement of being about to meet her cricketing heroes — the Black Caps.
Valley Cricket Club’s Rebekah Wang won a competition tobe the ANZ Coin Toss Kid at the Black Caps’ final tri-series match against Pakistan, at Christchurch’s Hagley Oval on October 14.
The 10-year-old joined Black Caps captain Kane Williamson and Pakistan captain Babar Azam for the pre-match toss.
While she felt nervous handing over the coin to Williamson, her nerves eased when she met Mitchell Santner, Glenn Phillips, Martin Guptill, Lee Tickner, Trent Boult and Ish Sodhi, for photos and autographs.
‘‘Trent Boult was funny,’’ Rebekah said. ‘‘He was chatting and joking with me. He said ‘maybe I could take the coin home because it was the last match’.’’
She was over the moon to rub shoulders with favourite players Devon Conway and Santner.
‘‘I like Mitchell because I have the same birthday as his daughter. I like Devon Conway because he’s good atbatting.’’
It was Conway’s skill with the bat Rebekah wanted to emulate in her own game, and she learned valuable lessons watching the Black Caps in action.
After taking up the sport at the beginning of this year, Rebekah loved bowling.
‘‘I am better at bowling than batting at the moment. I practise my bowling a lot. I sometimes play in the backyard with my older brother and Dad. I like cricket because I can play with my friends and you can hit the ball.’’
While the Black Caps lost the match, and also the series, Rebekah still relished the occasion and hoped to play for the White Ferns one day.
