Luke Georgeson having a ball at CSNI

The 22-year-old former New Zealand U19 international signed for the Stormont side ahead of the current campaign and he’s wasted no time in proving his ability in the NCU.

After 15 matches, Georgeson has scored 625 runs at an average of 69.44 – 93 of which came in a blistering 45-ball innings in the LVS Twenty20 Cup final in June – and his tally of six half-centuries can only be bettered by Carrickfergus overseas professional Jacques Snyman.

When you add in 20 wickets and a maiden Northern Knights century, it has been quite the season to date for Georgeson and he will be looking to help CSNI reach another showpiece decider when they take on CIYMS in the Gallagher Challenge Cup semi-finals tomorrow.

In what is his first season outside of New Zealand, Georgeson has been able to enjoy the experience without having too much pressure placed on him.

“Having a guy like Gary (Wilson) around, who knows cricket better than most, knows that sometimes you won’t get off to a flyer so there isn’t any real pressure in that sense because it’s never through a lack of trying,” he said.

“He told me to come over and give it a crack and that’s what I did, but when you do get off to a flyer it does help for sure.

“The main thing when you come over and play is there is obviously a bit of expectation on you so it’s about managing that pressure.

“At the end of the day the club get you over to help around the club but also to perform, so there’s that importance on you to do that and that’s probably been the most pleasing thing throughout the T20 stuff and some of the Premier League games that I’ve been able to put in performances that have led to wins.

“There’s no use in scoring a lot of runs or taking wickets if you aren’t winning games, so to take the ownership of actually winning games has probably been the biggest learning that I’ve had.”

His opening partnership with Ross Adair has been the most successful in the NCU’s top-flight in terms of 50+ stands with the duo’s different styles complementing each other perfectly.

Georgeson is more watchful, scoring his runs at a strike-rate of 90.19 while Adair’s brutal ball-striking has earnt him a deserved reputation as one of the most destructive batsmen in the league, hitting 560 runs at over a 140 strike-rate.

“Ross whacks it cleaner than most which helps, but I think we complement each other really well,” added Georgeson.

“Obviously being left and right-handed helps, but the way he attacks the powerplay allows me to just bat so I can rotate the strike and hit the bad ball because I know scoring pressure is never going to be an issue.

“We communicate well and run well too. He’s a lot of fun to bat with and it’s all pretty relaxed. Hopefully we can have another few of them before the season is over.”