The Nixonstown Inquirer
The next big thing?
Christian McColm
Much has been written about the recent rounds of club cricket matches and the exploits of one player in particular. The Nixonstown Inquirer decided it was time to get to know the person behind the statistics, and took time out with a boy who's been labelled as the next big thing in CWLand cricket, allrounder Michael Wilson.
We met with fourteen-year-old Michael following an afternoon's net practice session with his American League club. Following a clamour for autographs and a practical joke involving a large bucket of water from team-mate Adam Collins, he spoke candidly and honestly on subjects from his development through to his hopes for the future.
Attempting to restore his saturated short brown hair to its usual spiked style, Wilson, proud of his Melbourne roots, told us how he got into the game, "I've been playing cricket ever since the age of 8 - my dad taught me a lot of things; how to bat, how to bowl - you know, the important bits! The other sports I'm into are basketball and AFL, although I'm quite as good at either." Alongside his father, he cites Victoria legend Dean Jones as his biggest childhood inspiration, and feels that there's a little bit of Dean in the way that he bats.
Even though his form with the ball hasn't been as good as he'd hoped, he still believes that bowling is his stronger suit, rating taking my first wicket for Atlanta as his best moment in his short career to date, paying tribute to his Atlanta team-mate, Xavier Rose. "He has taught me a lot of things, as has Nath (Patrick). There are more, but the list would go on and on!"
When asked about his reaction to the praise he's received in the media lately, he took his time to consider a response, the late evening sun reflecting upon the sweat and water on his lightly tanned face, resonating an aura of measured, content calm. He was refreshingly honest, "It's an honour - when I first heard these comments, I was taken aback by them, but I'm trying to just concentrate on my cricket. If an International call should happen down the track then It would be fantastic, but I don't think I've got a chance this season!"
When asked about the rumours concerning Atlanta players' drug abuse, he took a hard line, "This is the first I've heard of it. As far as I'm concerned they're not true. During the cricket season, I'd never be involved with this - I prefer to concentrate on my game, and I'd never smoke anything, it's pointless."
As well as being a top cricketer, Michael comes across as a true team player - a great person to have in your side. As he began his jog home past another crowd of autograph hunters and I began the process of converting a recording to readable copy, I knew that there would be a long line of Development League captains clamouring for his signature ahead of next season.
c.j.mccolm@nti.cw
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