WANNABE Black Cap Michael Pollard doesn’t know why he likes cricket, and he can’t remember when he started playing.
He is a typical sportsman with very little to say, but his performance and achievements on the field speak volumes.
The 20 year old has received the Railway Metro New World Scholarship for the second year running.
The programme, which is separate from the Wellington Firebirds contracts awarded for the summer at the start of October, are given to cricket players who have the potential to represent Wellington at a First Class level.
Scholarship recipients commit themselves to Cricket Wellington for a period, and receive $2,000 each to assist them with cricket-related expenses.
Pollard was stoked to receive the scholarship because part of looking as professional as possible and performing optimally is having the right equipment.
“A new bat can cost between $600 and $700, and if you go through two or three bats a season it sets you back quite a bit. New pads are around $170.”
Pollard made his Wellington Firebirds debut this season, racking up 60 runs. The former Wellington College pupil is the captain of the North City Club team and was one of the youngest to play with the Firebirds. He was Wellington’s top run scorer at 2009’s national Under 19 tournament, which resulted in his selection for the NZ Under 19s, which he captained and vice captained.
During the cricket off season Pollard keeps fit playing rugby, which he loved at college but had to forsake because it clashed with cricket.
Pollard joins two others who were awarded the scholarship. Tom Blundell has followed a similar path to Pollard, through Wellington and New Zealand age group teams, leading to a spot in the NZ squad for 2010’s Under 19 World Cup. Representing the ladies, White Fern Sophie Devine, who was the leading run-scorer in both the Twenty20 and One-Day competitions this season, also received one.