At 4ft 9in, Taylor Tankard barely stands above the stumps and weighs 90lb soaking wet.

But don't be misled by his diminutive stature as the 13-year-old possess the heart of a lion and punches well above his weight playing among the senior cricket ranks with PHC.

The promising batter is a product of the club's flourishing development programme, and is making steady strides despite being thrown into the proverbial swimming pool at the deep end.

“I think it's amazing that I have this opportunity to play against the men, and I am really happy to be able to do so,” Tankard told The Royal Gazette.

“I love batting against opponents older than me because when I get to that high level, I know what it's like already and can play my shots and stuff.”

Tankard began his career as a six-year-old participating in Bermuda Cricket Board's Pee Wee programme and seven years later finds himself playing against the island's elite players in the top flight.

His goals include representing Bermuda on the international stage and playing in Cup Match for champions Somerset, the parish his father Bernalle is from.

He also hopes to one day pad up for Bailey’s Bay, which also happens to be the parish his mother Maegan is from.

But above all, Tankard simply just wants to have fun playing the sport he has come to love.

“I hope to achieve my goals and just have fun and enjoy playing cricket,” he said.

The teenager is being put through his paces at PHC by the club's cricket director Cal Waldron, who is encouraged by the progress that he has made in his ongoing development.

“He's come a long way,” he said.

“There’s still some development to go, but he's progressing with the skills and drills that he is presented with.

“He takes on the challenge, and at the end of the day he's looking to develop himself as a player first. He's being rewarded through the development of training sessions to the actual game day.”

Waldron believes exposing young players such as Tankard to this level despite of their inexperience bodes well for them in the long haul.

“It's part of developing youngsters to get them ready for cricket in Bermuda,” he said.

“It's always an opportunity to create a space and play them and let them be aware of what it entails to be involved in senior cricket, despite the fact they are not going to be technically sound as a seasoned player.

“Hopefully it gets them on their way and grooms them towards being a senior player in the future.”

Proud mother Maegan is grateful for both the opportunity and enormous encouragement that her son receives from fellow team-mates and opponents alike.

“The senior men’s team have basically taken Taylor under their wing,” she said.

“Yes, they want him to feel like a child. But at the same time they want him to understand that this is a really good game and he is really good at it.

“They encourage him a lot, so even if he messes up or even does good they are all supporting him, both on his team and the opposing team.”

Waldron also admires Tankard’s unwavering commitment and enormous courage to venture beyond his comfort zone, both on the training ground and out in the middle on game day.

“That's him, that's Termite. He likes that opportunity,” he said.

“He doesn't shy away from training sessions; the balls hit hard to him, the high catches, it's part of the development.

“We know he's still young. But we still hold him to a standard like, 'Come on Termite, you've been here, you should be able to do that'. And he likes the competitiveness among the senior players.”