Canterbury opener Chad Bowes is being backed by his new Blackcaps teammates to flourish on the international stage after being named for the ODI series opener against Sri Lanka on Saturday.
After more than a decade after captaining the South African under-19, Bowes will finally get his chance at the senior level - but for New Zealand.
The 30-year-old joins a long list of SA-born cricketers to switch allegiance, after moving to Christchurch in 2015, and the rest, as they say, is history.
Following dominant performances in white ball cricket over the past few seasons, Bowes has been rewarded with a Blackcaps call-up.
He will open the batting for New Zealand in the first ODI at Auckland, and will make his Blackcaps debut alongside Rachin Ravindra.
Blackcaps star Daryl Mitchell isn't surprised to see Bowes crack the international scene, having seen first-hand the work he's put in behind the scenes.
"It's awesome to see Chad get a crack at this level, I know he's worked seriously hard," he said.
"Probably similar in many ways in that he's had to learn his game at the domestic level for a period of time and he's knocked on the door for a number of years now.
"It's awesome to see him get the chance to wear the silver fern, I know he's very excited, and he's got his young family up here as well.
"I know he will be very proud to sing the national anthem in front of them and really looking forward to watching him go about his business."
Blackcaps captain and Canterbury teammate Tom Latham echoed Mitchell's comments and believes it's a well-deserved opportunity for the rookie pair.
"For those guys, they've both earned their spots through performances over the last couple of seasons in the white ball arena in domestic cricket," he said.
"We're obviously really excited by the opportunity for them, but in terms of the bowlers, we'll have to wait and see how they pull up tomorrow.
"He'll [Ravindra] bat seven, we're just trying to keep that same format and balance throughout the side with Michael heading away. It's an exciting opportunity for Rachin heading into the next few weeks."
