Railway Metro toasts success of cricketers

Railway Metro New World toasts the success of three Wellington cricketers

This season’s sponsorship of promising cricketers Sophie Devine, Michael Pollard and Fraser Colson by Railway Metro New World enabled the trio to further concentrate on their blossoming cricket careers.

To the benefit of cricket in Wellington, Railway Metro New World’s sponsorship towards the trio’s living costs resulted in success on the field for all three during the course of the season.

In helping Devine, their assistance allowed the talented all-round women’s cricketer to return to Wellington from Christchurch to star in the State Wellington Blaze and re-earn selection in the White Ferns for their home series against Australia and the Women’s World Cup in Sydney. Her successful season was capped off last week by her inclusion in the White Ferns squad for the Woman’s Twenty20 World Cup in June.

With Devine back in capital colours the Blaze were able to achieve their first domestic women’s championship title in twenty years in winning the State Twenty20 competition and also finishing runners-up in the one-day State League.

Devine proved an integral member of the White Ferns team that finished runners up in the Women’s World Cup held in Sydney earlier this year. Devine’s spells of fiery fast bowling netted her eight wickets in six World Cup games at a miserly run rate, continuing her key involvement in the White Ferns squad that drew their home Rosebowl series with Australia 2-2.

Previously, Devine played a vital part in the Blaze team that won eight of ten 50-over games en route to the final against the State Canterbury Magicians and in their State Twenty20 success with victory in the final against her former Canterbury teammates.

She has fast become a dominant player in New Zealand’s women’s cricket. Blaze coach Mark Borthwick recently described her as ‘three players in one’ for her fast opening bowling, hard hitting middle order batting and sharp fielding skills.

Her return to the Blaze was possible due to the support of Railway Metro New World in Wellington, whose sponsorship allowed her to return to her home town from Christchurch where her family is now based. Sophie had previously played four seasons for the Blaze having made her debut as a 14-year old out of Tawa College in 2003/04.

Devine played in all of the eleven one-day State League games and five of six State League Twenty20 fixtures in the Blaze’s 2008/09 campaign, producing several compelling performances with both bat and ball across both competitions.

In the State League she scored 255 runs with a highest score of 83 not out and took 16 wickets with a best bowling return of 3 for 25.

In the Twenty20 series her 149 runs included two scores of 50 or more, while she also took five wickets at a healthy economy rate of 5.34 runs per over and with a best return of 3 for 12.

Considering her long list of achievements over the past few seasons, it’s easy to forget that Devine is still a teenager. She made her Blaze debut as a 14-year old out of Tawa College in 2003/04 and quickly impressed her teammates as a player of tremendous promise. Her potential was recognised by the national selectors three seasons later when she made her White Ferns debut against Australia in Brisbane in 2006, aged 17.

That summer she won both the Wellington Women’s Cricketer award and State Plate for the Most Outstanding Player in the State League women’s domestic competition at the New Zealand Cricket Awards. In 2007 she moved to Christchurch with her family and played for the State Canterbury Magicians in the State League and State League Twenty20 competitions, helping them to win both titles.

Top order batsman Michael Pollard was selected as one of three Wellington players in the New Zealand U19 team this season. He was joined by State Wellington Firebirds’ all-rounder Harry Boam and North City teammate and opening bowler Illi Tugaga.

Pollard’s elevation to national U19 colours for their recent internal tour of New Zealand comes after a successful national U19 tournament in January at Lincoln University. Pollard was Wellington’s leading batsman at the tournament, with 312 runs scored in five one-day and two three-day matches, with a highest score of 101 not out in a thee-day fixture. He was then selected in the Wellington ‘A’ team for their tournament, also at Lincoln, and later scored an unbeaten 59 for the New Zealand U19s against Wellington A in a one-day fixture at Karori Park.

Like Pollard, Fraser Colson also has New Zealand age-grade credentials, having played for New Zealand U19 at the ICC U19 World Cup in Malaysia in March 2008. Colson went on to captain the Wellington U19 team at this year’s national tournament at Lincoln and like Pollard made the Wellington A team for their tournament that followed.

Colson has long been a prodigious talent on both the cricket and football fields, having also played for the New Zealand U17 Football team in the 2007 U17 World Cup in South Korea.

Colson, who played alongside several State Wellington Firebirds such as Matt Bell, Chris Nevin and Graham Napier at the Hutt District Club, kick-started his 2008/09 season early in November by scoring 145 not out off 140 balls for his club en route to helping them win this year’s Wellington Premier club cricket one-day title.

He also scored the first century of the New Zealand Provincial A Tournament at Lincoln, cracking 121 in a high scoring 15-run win over Central Districts in the tournament opener in mid-January.

Railway Metro New World’s support of these three players and of the Wellington School of Cricket, for whom they are premium sponsor, helps cricket in Wellington remain at the highest standard and gave Devine, Pollard and Colson every opportunity to take their career to the highest level. It’s to the enjoyment of both Cricket Wellington and Railway New World Metro that they have all done so with such notable success.

ENDS

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