CRICKET - Year-round tug-of-war for skilful all-rounder

Fraser Seymour is a right midfielder who can open the batting and bowls a decent leg spinner. Confused?
Fraser is one of those talented all-round athletes who no matter what the season is - is out there playing and excelling at whatever he does.
His two main sports are soccer and cricket. The two codes are facing a future tug-of-war over the 13-year-old's allegiance, but for now he can comfortably play both.
Fraser was one of three promising junior soccer players who recently returned from a trip to the home of soccer - England. Along with Courts Wood and Daniel Ridgely, Fraser, under the supervision of North Force senior coach Dean Wheatley, recently spent two weeks at the Aston Villa youth academy in Birmingham.
"Fraser's one of those players with a natural ability and he's got plenty of potential as a footballer. Like all of the boys, they did really well over there," Wheatley said.
The Whangarei players trained with the Villa under-14 squad and weren't out of their depth.
The Kiwi trio also got to mix with Villa first team players, including a quick chat with manager Martin O'Neill. They also watched a few English Premier League games.
The highlight for Fraser was watching Liverpool play Wigan, along with 65,000 other fans. The atmosphere was unforgettable.
"It was an exciting game, I'm not really into Liverpool, but in the end they won 3-2," Fraser said.
Fraser went as a neutral, but with friends who supported Wigan getting a "bagging" from the Liverpool supporters, it turned him instantly into a Wigan fan.
It was Fraser's second overseas football trip after he scored a trip to Papua New Guinea with a United Soccer 1 (regional representative) team a couple of years ago as part of an Oceania tournament.
Despite the trips and the glamour of the English game, Fraser remains a big fan of his summer sport cricket.
"I'm into cricket just as much," Fraser said. :I want to keep on playing both sports."
And he seems to have the same ability, scoring a massive 160 in the recent Doug Thorpe Memorial tournament. He is an important member of the Northland under-14 cricket team.
Fraser practices his cricket skills with older brother Alex, who is a member of the North Force Youth team and the U17 Northland team.
Their success means lots of running around for mum Judy and dad Dennis.
"We wouldn't have it any other way, we enjoy watching them play in whatever game they try ... and both my boys can pretty much do what they want no matter what sport it is," Judy said.