Mason is sportsman of the year

ANENDRA SINGH
It was a far cry from the former Bush Multisports Complex in Pahiatua, but Michael Mason was thrilled to be named the Tararua Sportsperson of the Year last night.
The 33-year-old Black Caps cricketer was on the top of "some tall building in London overlooking Buckingham Palace and Big Ben" when he received a phone call from his mum, Gayleen, informing him of the award.
"It was a bit noisy because the high commissioner was entertaining the cricketers, but Michael said it was fantastic to see the youngsters in the region coming through in the different sports and getting acknowledged. He was delighted to be named the winner," she told SportToday from her Pahiatua home today.
Mason, a Central Districts Stags bowler, is on a tour of England with the New Zealand team. His mother said he had been attending the Infracon Tararua Sportsperson of the Year Awards since 1999 and had finally nailed the top award at Stadium Pahiatua last night.
Gayleen said her son had just bought a home in Pahiatua and intended to stay in the region.
"He loves hunting deer with his friends," said a shocked Gayleen, who collected the award on his behalf last night in front of an audience of about 100 after guest speaker and All Black legend Colin Meads thrilled the faithful with his take on the status of rugby in the country.
Mason, who has also toured the West Indies, South Africa and Australia as a New Zealand A representative, was born in Carterton, in the Wairarapa.
"He was very fast as a young lad and very hard to keep up with," Gayleen said.
Surprisingly soccer was his No.1 sport.
"He used to play with his younger brother Ian, so there were dirt tracks and pot holes every where in the back yard," said Gayleen.
A teenage Mason made the Wairarapa age-group representative soccer teams from the age of 11 to the under-15s. His first foray into cricket came when he attended Kuranui College, in Greytown, when he joined his father, Ian, to play for their third grade Greytown Cricket Club.
He was eventually selected to play for the Greytown and Woodville cricket teams, but his mother said they did not have any inkling that their son was going to represent his country some day.
Having secured a job as laboratory assistant at the now defunct Tui Dairy Company, Mason found it increasingly difficult to find time off work on Saturdays to play cricket. At times, Gayleen said, he was lucky to roll his arm over once every five or six weeks.
In his early 20s, the player, known to his cricketing mates as "Mace", felt he had a future in cricket.
Faced with a relocation or redundancy option at Tui Dairy Company, Mason opted to give up his job.
Gayleen said her son did not have any specialised coaching in cricket or attend any elite academies until he was in his 20s.
Last night, Mason fended off a stiff challenge from eight other nominees to etch his name on the trophy.
They included Thai boxer Geoffrey Ahipene, motorcyclists Geoffrey Booth and Adam Reeves, rugby players Kathleen Wilton, Matty James and Francis Bryant, stock-car racer Peter Bengston and hockey player Tara Drysdale.
Meads had the audience in fits of laughter when he waved and walked out to the toilet as the master of ceremony gave him a rousing introduction.
Like Mason's mum, another mother turned up to receive a junior sportsperson of the year certificate on behalf of squash player Paige Wilks, after her father had fallen off a roof and hurt himself. Paige was competing in the nationals.