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Southland’s Benji Culhane has scored 123 of just 94 balls playing for Otago against Auckland in the national under-19 cricket tournament.
The son of a former All Black has put his name in the lights on the New Zealand cricket scene.
Benji Culhane racked up an extraordinary century playing for Otago against Auckland in the New Zealand U19 cricket tournament in Lincoln on Saturday.
Culhane is the son of former All Black first five eighths Simon Culhane who scored 45 points against Japan in the 1995 World Cup.
Culhane senior was a skilled cricketer in his youth, which included playing at the Hawke Cup level for Southland.
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But it seems like Simon’s teenage son has surpassed him in terms of cricket talent.
Benji came close to the fold Saturday hitting a No. 8 and his team at 127 of six.
Otago’s problems worsened when he dropped to 138 for nine.
That was when Culhane took over.
The wicketkeeper-batter hit 12 fours and eight sixes while scoring 123 of just 94 balls.
He found support from Otago No. 10 Ben Seavill, who contributed 29 for 43 balls when he and Culhane put up 153 for the ninth wicket.
Culhane was executed on the last ball of the inning with Otago scoring 291 batting first.
Despite the heroic deeds of the Southlander, Otago failed to post a victory as Auckland revised the goal with three overs and four wickets to spare.
It was Culhane’s first outing in the tournament that started Thursday, but now he has quickly become a key figure in the setup.
His century in the U19 national tournament comes just three weeks after he marked a century in his Hawke Cup debut playing for Southland against Mid Canterbury.
Otago’s next assignment in the U19 tournament will be against Wellington on Monday.
