Fraser Bartholomew (right) with his Levin Old Boys teammate Bailey Te Tomo.
Fraser Bartholomew (right) with his Levin Old Boys teammate Bailey Te Tomo.
Fraser Bartholomew has come a long way from the 15-year-old that made his debut for the Horowhenua-Kāpiti Bears cricket team against Manawatū in 2015.
That morning the coach of the Bears was short a player so drove around for a while before plumping for a young Bartholomew, who was playing senior B cricket at the time.
While the reasons behind his selection that day were hardly auspicious - they were looking for someone to bat 11 and plug the field - he relished the opportunity and took to it with the energy of young colt.
And it proved to be the start of a representative career that saw him selected on merit alone in seasons thereafter, forcing his way into the side after taking a heap of wickets in age grade cricket, even making the Central Districts under-19 team in 2016.
FLASHBACK: Fraser Bartholomew (right) and Liam Pinfold were selected for the Central Districts U19 team in 2016.
Fast forward to this year. He had now played 33 representative games and taken 84 wickets for Horowhenua-Kāpiti, with the chance to zero in on the magical 100-wicket mark.
In between times, the 22-year-old had managed to weave representative cricket in with his university study. He already had a commerce degree from Otago University and this year was aiming for a postgraduate degree.
For Bartholomew, the chance to represent HK meant following in the footsteps of his late father Rex who was a wicket-keeper batsmen and a mainstay of the team through the 80s.
As a youngster he was forever bowling to his father in the backyard, and joked that's why he was a probably a better bowler than a batsman today.
"And that's a motivation, too. Dad played for Horowhenua-Kāpiti for such a long time," he said.
Fraser Bartholomew (right) with his Levin Old Boys teammate Bailey Te Tomo.
The past three summers had coincided with university holidays, which meant he was able to continue to play for Levin Old Boys in club cricket and carry on his career with the HK representative team.
"I've been quite lucky that the season falls in the holidays," he said.
He played the odd game for the North East Valley Cricket Club in Dunedin either side of his university holidays, and spent the winter months training at their indoor facility.
Bartholomew said he wanted to pursue a masters degree next year should his grades allow, which would mean more time spent in the deep south, but he would always be keen to represent HK whenever given the chance.
"I haven't decided yet whether to do my masters or get working," he said.
Meanwhile, HK cricket had really got its act together in recent years and it was hard to imagine current coach Chad Law looking for players the morning of a match.
Fraser Bartholomew in their last ball win against Taranaki last season.
With growing depth and a mix of promising young players, they could be looked on as a genuine title contender this season. Their two-day match against competition favourites Hawke's Bay, starting tomorrow at Donnelly Park, could be a doozy.
Law has named a 13-man squad, with two players to be omitted.
Horowhenua-Kāpiti squad: Dion Sanson, Ajay Kashyap, Andrew Simpson, Bailey Te Tomo, Dylan Reder, Keegan Maclachlan, Jamie Pinfold, Carter Andrews, Fraser Bartholomew, Daemon Kennett, Zack Benton, Thomas Harris, Jaedyn Dawson.
