| Player: | MC Henriques |
DateLine: 18th April 2009
Moises Henriques was so young when he first came into the New South Wales squad that he could train only in school holidays and often had to catch a taxi to practice. By the age of 18 he had already won praise from Trevor Hohns, the former national chairman of selectors, and a rookie contract with the Blues. After starring as captain of Australia's Under-19 side - he first made the team as a 16-year-old - with 16 World Cup wickets in Sri Lanka at 10.62 and 150 runs at 37.5, Henriques played his second senior game in the final of the 2005-06 ING Cup. A 187cm opening bowler, Henriques is the youngest player to collect ten wickets in a Sydney first-grade match, and he supplements his skills with fine middle-order strokeplay. Born on the Portuguese island of Madeira, Henriques arrived in Australia as a baby and first played cricket with friends aged nine. Occasionally compared to Steve Waugh, he looks overseas for Jacques Kallis as an all-round idol.