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At 16, Martin Nurse is already living part of his life-long dream and making good on a promise he made to his mother when she was alive.

He has put the early trauma of losing his mother at just 11 years old behind him and moved on to become one of the youngest players to be named to the island's senior cricket team.

My mother always supported me and I know if she were still here she would be proud of me.

From young I always told her that I wanted to play cricket for Barbados and, hopefully, the West Indies, he said.

The Deighton Griffith Secondary School student has been raised mostly by his older brother, Mark, who, he said, really pushed him to go after his dream.

I am really excited and happy to be playing with some of the older members of the team and the guys have all supported me, said the quiet youngster.

I honestly didn't feel I did that great during the trials, but I still felt like I had a chance of making the team.

I was surprised but happy when I heard I had been selected. All of my friends and family said they were proud of me and hope I do well.

My ultimate dream, of course, is to one day play for the West Indies, said the left-handed opening batsman.

Nurse has been on a high since hearing the news and, yesterday, the confidence showed as he strutted out on the Emmerton Playing Field next to Barbados captain Sherwin Campbell in the Emmerton Tapeball Cricket Competition.

The fifth-form student was the leading Division 1 batsman this season with 737 runs, including a century his second at that level.

The first was a match-saving knock for Combined Schools against Spartan in Queen's Park on his debut.

He was a late bloomer, never seriously taking up the game until he reached secondary school. Even then, the resident of Foursquare, St Philip, was never a part of the national Under-15 or Under-19 teams.

But a strong will and determination has seen him leapfrog over many players who were elevated while he had to sit back and watch.

He creates history by becoming the first player to make the senior side while still a junior, without making the Under-19 team.

He will, however, not be in Barbados for the season-opener. He leaves on January 8 for a three-week stint in Australia, where he will attend the Bradman Coaching School in Sydney, and other camps in Melbourne.

From there it's all in his hands.

© The Barbados Nation