Sideline Sid Sports correspondant & historian www.sunlive.co.nz

The elevation of Trent Boult to the ICC One Day International number one bowler ranking and the recent status of Kane Williamson as the best test batsman in the world, is a huge testament to the Western Bay and Bay of Plenty cricket pathways.

Both young men kicked off their cricket journeys in Saturday morning junior cricket in the Western Bay of Plenty.

As they grew and developed their game, they quickly earned selection in Bay of Plenty age-group teams that compete in the annual ND age-group tournaments.

As a local cricket correspondent for the last decade and a half, it has been my privilege to watch the development of both Kane and Trent, from emerging talent to rising stars, before becoming the best batsman and bowler in world cricket.

The pair took different early pathways, with Kane leading Otumoetai Intermediate to the NZ Cricket Primary National Finals, before making a big impression in the Gillette Cup for Tauranga Boys' College.

Trent played Western Bay senior men's cricket for Otumoetai College as a real youngster, before joining Otumoetai Cadets premier side as a 15-year-old.

Over the years this writer has been lucky enough to see both Western Bay of Plenty super stars in action as youngsters in long forgotten games, with just a handful of spectators on the sideline.

Trent burst into the local sports headlines, playing for Otumoetai College Reserve Grade side that rolled Greerton for just 15 runs, grabbing six wickets in the Otumoetai College victory. He then went on to make his mark in Baywide premier cricket while still at Otumoetai College.

National attention came when Trent won a National Secondary School speed bowling competition in 2007.

The Otumoetai College sixth former showed he was express pace, stopping the speed gun at 129km/h.

Another outstanding moment came in the 2006/07 season when the emerging world quick took two hat tricks in an innings for the Tauranga Sub-Association team against Eastern Bay of Plenty in an Attrill Cup title decider.

While many local cricket watchers predicted that Kane Williamson was headed for the top in his early days, he continued to rewrite the record book on his journey.

Three Gillette Cup Finals centuries and his Bay of Plenty Senior Representative Cricket debut from the Tauranga Boys' College fourth form, were just the start.

There were just a handful of cricket fans at the Bay Oval at Mount Maunganui when he blasted 131 for Bay of Plenty Under 19 against their Waikato Valley counterparts during March 2007, which was the first three figure score on the (then) new ground.

Because of Black Cap and Northern Districts commitments, Kane has played just 14 games in the blue and gold representative uniform since making his debut against Hamilton in a Fergus Hickey encounter on the 27/28 November 2005.

Making a rare appearance for the Bay of Plenty team in December 2013, Kane became just the fifth Bay of Plenty batsman to score 150 (or better) when he smashed 157, against Counties Manukau in a match where rain precluded a result being declared.

The next few years look to be golden times for the New Zealand Black Caps, with Trent and Kane part of a unit that has the potential to take them to the top in all three forms of the game.