The Gloucester High student was a member of the Mid North Coast under 19s squad chosen to tour the Shaky Isles, flying out from Sydney two days after Christmas.

The team was based in Christchurch and played five games over the 13-day visit, winning two.

Ryan said, while the standard of cricket never really achieved great heights, all the players had enjoyed the experience.

“I scored a couple of 30s and kept pretty well,” he said.

“I also bowled one over for one wicket so you could say I did okay with the ball. The pitches over there were really different. They were basically just rolled dirt.

“Our manager told us to treat it as a holiday with a bit of cricket. Everyone knew each other and got along which made it a heap more fun.”

Away from the cricket pitch, the players enjoyed paint-balling, jet-boating and bungee-jumping and were billeted out to local families during their stay.

Ryan, who arrived back in Australia last Thursday, is part of the under 19s Manning River representative side which plays its next match against Macleay Valley at Johnny Martin Oval in Taree this Sunday.