New Men’s Head Coach Peter Fulton is no stranger to producing international talent and has seen a number of Canterbury cricketers make their New Zealand debuts since he joined the association in August 2020.
We have looked at those who have gone on to receive international honours and what they have achieved at the highest level of the game:
CHAD BOWES
AGE: 33
PLAYING STYLE: Batter
NZ DEBUT: ODI – 2023 / T20I – 2023
Chad Bowes is a right-handed top-order batter who has featured 17 times for New Zealand in white-ball cricket in both One-Day Internationals and T20s.
He has notched a half-century in both formats with a best score of 54 in the fourth T20 during New Zealand’s tour of Pakistan in 2023.
ZAK FOULKES
AGE: 23
PLAYING STYLE: Allrounder
NZ DEBUT: Test – 2025 / ODI – 2024 / T20I – 2024
Zak Foulkes is a tall swing bowler who can also make a difference down the order with the bat.
Having enjoyed a successful Super Smash in 2022/23 – where he emerged as Canterbury’s leading wicket-taker (12 wickets) – and helped them to the final.
Following some key changes within the Canterbury squad, Foulkes found himself bowling the tough overs and became a star of the team.
He has one Test five-wicket haul to his name having played four matches and has 32 white-ball wickets at international level.
MITCHELL HAY
AGE: 25
PLAYING STYLE: Wicketkeeper-batter
NZ DEBUT: Test – 2025 / ODI – 2024 / T20I – 2024
Mitchell Hay is also relatively new to international cricket having played a couple of dozen matches across the three formats.
He has a half-century to his name in both Test and ODI cricket, becoming the first New Zealand wicketkeeper-batter to finish an ODI innings unbeaten on 99 – which was achieved against Pakistan in Hamilton last year. Only Andy Flower and Swapnil Patil have achieved this feat too.
In T20Is, his best score of 41 not out allowed him to showcase some explosive batting and earn the Player of the Match award as New Zealand defeated Sri Lanka at Mount Maunganui.
RHYS MARIU
AGE: 24
PLAYING STYLE: Batter
NZ DEBUT: ODI – 2025
24-year-old Rhys Mariu has represented his country in two ODIs against Pakistan in April 2025.
In his second international match, he managed to record his maiden half-century – going on to make 58 off 61 balls, striking six fours and two sixes to help New Zealand win by 43 runs in Mount Maunganui and seal a 3-0 series win.
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COLE MCCONCHIE
AGE: 34
PLAYING STYLE: Allrounder
NZ DEBUT: ODI – 2023 / T20I – 2021
Cole McConchie has played 18 times for New Zealand in international cricket, appearing in 12 T20 Internationals and six One-Day Internationals – a format in which he averages 42.00 with the bat.
His best score of 64 not out came on debut against Pakistan in Karachi. This half-century was the fastest half-century by a New Zealander on debut – coming from just 36 deliveries.
He has just headed to India and Sri Lanka as a travelling replacement at the 2026 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup in place of Michael Bracewell, who picked up an injury during the Afghanistan match earlier in the tournament.
DARYL MITCHELL
AGE: 34
PLAYING STYLE: Allrounder
NZ DEBUT: TEST – 2019 / ODI – 2021 / T20I – 2019
Having already made his Test and T20 debut for New Zealand, Daryl Mitchell – who is no stranger to Middlesex having been an overseas player in 2021 – featured for his country in One-Day International cricket for the first time with Fulton as Canterbury Head Coach.
Mitchell has played 59 ODIs for his country – scoring over 2,600 runs at an average of 58.47.
Remarkably, in his 59 50-over matches for New Zealand, Mitchell has never recorded a duck and is second on that list behind Kepler Wessels who played 109 games.
WILL O’ROURKE
AGE: 24
PLAYING STYLE: Bowler
NZ DEBUT: Test – 2024 / ODI – 2023 / T20I – 2024
Out of all the internationals that Fulton has produced at Canterbury, O’Rourke is by far and above the most accomplished having played 11 Test matches and has also played in the Indian Premier League for Lucknow Super Giants.
In Test match cricket, O’Rourke has taken 39 wickets including two five-wicket hauls – with best figures of 5/34 coming in his debut against South Africa in February 2024.
O’Rourke has played 24 limited overs matches for his country – taking 29 wickets across ODI and T20I formats.
MICHAEL RAE
AGE: 30
PLAYING STYLE: Bowler
NZ DEBUT: Test – 2025
Michael Rae featured in two Test matches during the recent series against New Zealand.
In the two Test matches that he played, the right-arm medium-fast bowler took eight wickets with best figures of 3/45.
This call up came off the back of a solid first-class career which has seen him take 216 wickets in 72 matches – collecting best figures of 6/31.
HENRY SHIPLEY
AGE: 29
PLAYING STYLE: Bowler
NZ DEBUT: ODI – 2023 / T20I – 2023
Henry Shipley has played 13 times for his country across both white-ball formats – with his appearances coming in early 2025.
The right-armer has taken 17 wickets for New Zealand including 15 in One-Day International cricket, with best figures of 5/31 – which came against Sri Lanka during his first international outing on home soil at Eden Park in Auckland.
With nine internationals under his belt already, Fulton will be keen to add more when he joins Middlesex.
Caleb Falconer and Sebastian Morgan – who were both runners-up with the Young Lions at the 2026 ICC Men’s Under 19s World Cup – will be two of our cricketers who will be hoping to gain senior recognition in the future.
Others have recently featured for Young Lions also, whilst Max Holden played for the Lions against India ‘A’ in 2025 – scoring a century in one of his appearances.
