Could Kaylum Boshier be the next ‘double All Black’?

For most of us, representing our country in just one sport is only a pipe dream; it’s a rare sportsperson who can countenance playing two.

But that’s the situation that New Zealand Under 19 captain Kaylum Boshier finds himself in, excelling not just at cricket, but also at rugby – he has represented the New Zealand Barbarians Schools team playing at No. 8, and has also signed to the Taranaki rugby academy.

There have been ‘double All Blacks’ who have represented New Zealand in both rugby and cricket in the past, most notably Jeff Wilson, who played six ODIs either side of his 60 international rugby caps, with his last ODI coming in 2005. However, Boshier is reluctant to be drawn on the possibility of him joining their ranks.

“I haven’t really thought about that to be honest, he said. “In this day and age it would be quite tough to be able to do that. Somewhere along the line I will have to make a decision but I’m not ready to do that just yet. I’m looking forward to playing rugby next year and I’m enjoying both sports at the moment.”

All-round sporting ability is clearly something that runs in the family – Kaylum’s brother Lachlan plays professional rugby for the Chiefs – but sibling rivalry rarely dominated in the Boshier household, a fact demonstrated by the fact that Kaylum is willing to concede that his brother is the more talented sportsman.

“It was more relaxing, we weren’t too competitive with each other, but we were always competitive on the field,” he said.

For the moment however, with an Under 19 World Cup up for grabs, the focus for Boshier is firmly on cricket. “I took this year back from rugby and just followed my cricket and trained hard for that,” he said. “Being here in New Zealand helps us really perform, it makes it extra-special.

“Friends and family can come and support us; they don’t have to travel overseas. It’s that big support that we are looking forward to. We’re just really looking to enjoy it and wanting to do well for our country.”

A “hit the deck” bowler as well as a top order batsman, Boshier’s campaign got off to an excellent start as he took three wickets and registered a half-century against Zimbabwe in a warm-up victory. And not being content with playing key roles in both disciplines, he also leads the side.

“I’ve always enjoyed captaining and I’m honoured to be able to captain my country especially with the World Cup being in New Zealand,” he said. “I like to be quite aggressive; Brendon McCullum is someone I’ve followed captaincy-wise. As a fielding unit we want to be taking wickets and putting the batsman under pressure, not letting the batsman get on top of us.”

McCullum is another who had to choose between rugby and cricket, having kept All Blacks legend Dan Carter out of the South Island secondary schools team before committing his future to the latter. Blackcaps fans will surely be hoping the promising all-rounder follows McCullum in choosing to put bat and ball first and foremost.