Teenager Macneil Hadley Noronha hogs the limelight with his stellar performances

Young prodigies with abundant talent keep hogging limelight from every now and then. Getting 1000 runs in a calendar year is considered as a great deal. It indeed is but 15-year-old Macneil Hadley Noronha has carved a name for himself scoring 1740 runs in a year in UAE and India while representing The Millennium School, Dubai, Desert Cubs Cricket Academy (DCCA) and Mangalore district in the Under-16 zonal tournament in Karnataka.

The Dubai-born right-hand wicket-keeper batsman as displayed maturity ,and class beyond his age and promises to be the next big cricketing star to emerge from the country.

Asked how he managed to become a run machine scoring three centuries and 12 fifties this season, Macneil said: “Cricket gives you lot of patience, skills, technique and application. It’s like doing an exam. Patience is key. Staying at the wicket will get me runs. I have to be patient and hit the bad balls. I don’t get impatient because then you will lose balance, technique and will go for some bad shots and get out.”

He fondly remembers his first century scored in India against Udupi district back in 2014.

“I scored 114 not out on May 5. That’s actually memorable because in India there are a lot of turning pitches. Scoring a hundred is very good unlike in Dubai where you get flat pitches. It gave me the confidence to play in India on spinning wickets,” Macneil said, as reported by Emirates247.com.

Macneil’s talents blossomed during the last two years as he began pursuing his goals seriously. He enhanced his cricket education in India under the guidance of Samuel Jayaraj Muthu, a coach from Karnataka Institute of Cricket in Bangalore and Macneil credits the improvement in his game attained there as instrumental in his success since then.

“That’s where I got all my techniques properly and I thought if I come to Desert Cubs I would advance my technique. I started scoring runs and in every tournament, I score at least a 50,” he said.

DCCA head coach Presley Polonnowita considers Macneil to be a special talent and is in awe of the maturity displayed by the youngster that goes beyond his age.

“When somebody joins it is difficult for him to get highlighted inside our big academy. But I heard a lot of good things about him, especially his commitment at the nets. I understood his free-scoring pattern, hunger to score runs and passion for the game,” said Polonnowita who saw his immense potential when the academy toured Australia last year.

“He was playing Under-15 but we wanted someone to play for Under-19 as well because we were running short of players. He came up and faced the challenge. From there onwards I have seen a big change in him and saw how committed his parents were to reduce his baby fat,” recalled Polonnowita.

Macneil’s father, an affluent businessman in Dubai, endorsed the coach’s words and said that as parents they will always support their child as he aims to take the next step in his career.

“I’m expecting his God-given talent to come out. Whatever step he reaches, we are there to support him. We are not putting more pressure on him. He is a special talent, a natural player. He is prepared to play any shot because his body can adjust,” he said.