Kyle Verreynne pays tribute to DOC candidate Ashwell Prince

It was no secret that Prince’s predecessor as coach, Paul Adams, didn’t rate Kyle Verreynne.

When Prince came in Verreynne began to ascend as a cricketer and he has duly noted this as he accepts plaudits for an excellent maiden Test century.

“To get across the line and make a contribution in this game and for the team is something I’m really proud of.

“At franchise level ‘Ashy P’ definitely had a massive impact in the way I bat and the way I’ve moulded my game, so obviously I’ve got to give a lot of credit to him,” said Verreynne.

Undoubtedly grateful, Verreynne said: “Firstly there is the belief he had in me. And also all the opportunities he gave me.”

Mentality giants

Kyle Verreynne credits Prince with helping to forge great mental strength. This has become such a feature of his game.

He has needed that acuity to be able to perform while there is a lot of chat going on around his place in the side.

The wicketkeeper batter also added: “He was also really good from a technical point of view. Also from an approach point of view and how you go about building and innings. He really helped me a lot.

Prince clearly impacted Verreynne: “In my professional career he’s the one I worked with the most.”

“Mentally you have a lot of doubts about yourself, and if you read what people have to say, there are a lot of questions being asked of myself. It was quite challenging.

“Fortunately today went according to plan.The tough period I’ve had at the start of my career. It’s been important just to go through that phase and hopefully I’m out of that now.”