Stats all-important to brothers

CRICKET: Meet the Biss boys and the Wiggins brothers.

BAND OF BROTHERS: The bowling Biss brothers of Cornwall Cricket Club who don't miss a beat in cricket, from left, Nick, 10, Ben, 14, and Tom, 13. HB TODAY PICTURES: ANENDRA SINGH	SHORT AND TALL OF IT: The Wiggins brothers Matt, 14, left, and Jayden thrive on sibling rivalry.

They are brothers in arms in their cricket teams but ask them how they stack up in the statistics department and the inswingers and hook shots come to the fore.

For one set of brothers their family history in the code is crucial to their success but for the other the input is almost negligible.

The Biss boys - Ben, who turned 14 on Monday, Tom, 12, and Nick, 10 - all open bowling for their schools and are Harveys Cornwall Cricket Club age-group team players.

Dad Matt's brush with school cricket is as it good as it gets and mum Jo's input is zilch, but it did not stop the parents encouraging their three boys to play the sport.

In fact, Matt has set up nets in the front yard of their Mahora home so Ben, of St John's College, and Tom and Nick, both of St Mary's School, can work on adjusting their line and length.

"We started with Milo cricket since we were five years old but we've received some coaching lessons from (Hawke's Bay women's coach) Lincoln Doull last year and Kent Bussel (Havelock North High School sports teacher),'' says Ben, an under-14 Bay representative player. Tom is in the under-13 side and Nick in the under-11 one.

Ask the youngsters what they hate about the code and they universally agree it's bowling extras and dropping catches.

Tom is quick off the mark to remind Ben of his six-wicket haul a fortnight ago against Havelock North Intermediate third XI, when his elder brother mentions his five-wicket bag for Cornwall and his three wickets for the Bay rep team against Wanganui at Nelson Park, Napier, last season.

Of course, the grades pale into insignificance when the shy year 5 pupil Nick is asked what his figures are.

Tom does his best but Ben steps in to bat for the youngest as he wins the bragging rights for his eight-

wicket haul against Hereworth School a fortnight ago.

Tom readily concedes St John's colts grade player Ben has the upper hand of 42 not out when the brothers batted for the same St Mary's team against Hastings Intermediate last season. In the brothers' middle-order partnership, Tom scored 38 not out. Nick's best was 36 retired last season.

Unlike the Biss boys, Cornwall's Wiggins brothers - batsman Matt, 14, of Hastings Boys' High and Jayden, 12, of Heretaunga Intermediate - come from a pedigree background of cricketers.

Their father, Bryce Wiggins, of Hastings, late uncle Gordon Martin and great-grandfather Johnny Martin were outstanding opening batsmen from the defunct Whakatu Mahora Cricket Club, who both went on to bat for the Hawke's Bay senior representative team.

The children's weekends spent watching dad Bryce, 43, play for the Cornwall premier team and later the senior side kindled their passion for the game.

Matt opens batting for Hawke's Bay and Cornwall under-14s but finds himself at No.8 for his school's colts team and also keeps wicket for his year 9 side.

Jayden opens batting for his school but has found a middle-order niche in the Bay and Cornwall under-12 teams. He also opens bowling except for Bay.

In the statistics department, the brothers used to have a record sheet mounted on the pantry door of their kitchen but that fizzled out when they lost track of wickets and Matt opted to focus on becoming a specialist batsman.

They are on a par in batting with the brothers recording 50s not out for their Cornwall rep teams last season but both swore that deadlock would break by the end of this season.

Jayden prefers to dwell on his bowling: "It's great when the bails fly. The batsmen look mad and it's so funny.''

"I get mad too but I try not to show it,'' quips Matt, who also shares a five-wicket stats with Jayden in school cricket.