2016 JUNIOR SPORTSMAN OF THE YEAR Nicholas Lidstone
“I like the contest between bowler and bat, and trying to get the opposition out. I like the battle and the intrigue. The best part, though, is off the field when there is camaraderie with the other team and you can chat about the game you have just been playing. I find cricket is not as bruising as rugby and your size doesn’t matter. It means anyone can be good at cricket because it’s about tactics and mental strength rather than physical strength.’’ But Nick has now broken with family tradition, turning his attention to hockey. “Cricket is my summer sport and, for a while, I played football as my winter sport. But then I got a bit bored, and looked for something new, becoming the first one in my family to play hockey. I find the
game really enjoyable and like the fact you can make friends around the country easily, meeting them at national tournaments. “Hockey requires speed and skill, using such a small ball. No two game scenarios are the same and each game is enjoyable because you never know what is going to happen.’’ But sport is not Nick’s only interest. He plays trumpet in the Big Band, French horn in the College orchestra, and also sings in the Chapel Choir and Schola Cantorum. It can be a very long day for Nick, who sometimes does not get home before 9pm. “It can sometimes be a bit of a struggle fitting study in as well as my other interests, but it’s how I like it to be. Each activity has its own group of friends and being with them can seem like downtime.’’
Cricket has long been a passion for 2016 Junior Sportsman of the Year, Nick Lidstone, but he now finds hockey is taking precedence as his main sport. It all makes for a very busy life. Nick started playing cricket when he was four, playing with his two older brothers and cricketing father at the Halswell Cricket Club. This meant, when he was chosen for his age group team in Year 5 at primary school, he knew plenty about the game and was well drilled in game tactics, an important part of the sport. “Cricket is big in our family, with my dad as a coach and my brothers still playing,’’ says Nick.
College Issue 32 2017
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