Ex-Royton ace stuns England

FORMER Royton CC overseas amateur Ryan Carters clearly loves playing against England.

The 23-year-old, who had a season of Lake Garage CLL cricket at the Paddock in 2009, hit 94 for an Australian Invitational X1 against Alastair Cook’s tourists.

But he will have been sorry to miss out on a century after being dismissed by the first ball of the second day.

Stuart Broad induced an edge and stand-in wicketkeeper Jonny Bairstow took a fine catch.

This was the second time Carters had faced England, having made his first-class debut against the Andrew Strauss-led outfit in 2010.

England went on to secure a 3-1 Ashes verdict over Australia on that tour, but Carters gave them plenty of headaches with a second-innings knock of 68 for Victoria.

Carters, who is also an expert wicketkeeper, had only limited opportunities for Victoria, making just 11 appearances in three seasons.

The lack of first-class action prompted him to look for another state side and in April of this year he joined New South Wales on rookie status.

Bernard Wade of Royton said the club was pleased with the impact made by Carters.

He said: “Ryan came over as a raw teenager and opened the batting and kept wicket for us.

“He scored almost 500 runs and had a very quick pair of hands, making 13 stumpings and taking as many catches in 19 matches.

“He was a quality ’keeper and showed signs of developing into a good batsman. Furthermore, he was a lovely lad on and off the field.”

n EX-WERNETH professional Heino Kuhn has been in sensational batting form for Titans in the Momentum One-Day Cup in his native South Africa.

The 29-year-old Kuhn (right), who was Werneth’s paid man in 2005, having spent the previous season as overseas amateur at Oldham, hit his third successive match-winning innings for Titans this week.

After making 92 against Knights and 104 against Warriors to steer his team into the play-offs, Kuhn hit an unbeaten 102 as Titans defeated Dolphins by five wickets in the semi-finals.

Titans will take on Cape Cobras in the final in Cape Town tomorrow.

Kuhn’s opportunities for South Africa have been restricted by the continued excellence of the world-class AB de Villiers, although he has played for the Proteas in the Twenty20 form of the game.