SCOTTISH international cricket hero Preston Mommsen yesterday graduated with a first class honours degree at Edinburgh Napier University.
Mommsen captained Scotland at the 2015 World Cup in Australia and New Zealand, and the 2016 World Twenty20 in India.
However, he combined a top-flight cricket career which saw him represent Scotland on more than 120 occasions with studying for a BSc in Property Development and Valuation.
His outstanding commitment was rewarded yesterday when he joined hundreds of fellow students to graduate at a ceremony in the city’s Usher Hall.
Preston, 31, said: “It feels wonderful to finally get to the end of the journey. The university was incredibly helpful and understanding of my situation, and assured me they would do their best to accommodate me when it came to fitting in my studies around my playing schedule.
“The degree has naturally taken longer to complete due to the demands of travelling and playing, but whenever I needed additional one-to-one time with my lecturers it was only ever a phone call away.”
South-African born Preston came to Scotland when he won a scholarship to Gordonstoun School in Moray in 2006. He later moved to Edinburgh and, after making his name as a batsman at the Carlton club, he was called up to play for Scotland in 2010 after qualifying through residency rules.
He became a regular in one-day internationals and Twenty20 internationals, and hit an average of 86.66 runs during the 2014 World Cup Qualifier tournament, including 139 in Scotland’s victory over the United Arab Emirates in the final.
He was named ICC Associate and Affiliate Cricketer of the Year in that year. He also became the first player to captain Scotland to victory in a global tournament when they beat Hong Kong at the World T20 in March 2016.
The prolific run-getter still plays for the Grange Cricket Club in the capital, but has recently joined property consultancy Montagu Evans with the intention of becoming a chartered commercial surveyor.
He said: “The company has been great thus far and I am really enjoying working in commercial property.”
The Edinburgh Napier Property Development and Valuation course which Preston studied has now been named BSc in Real Estate Surveying.
Professor Mark Deakin, Acting Dean of the School of Engineering and the Built Environment, said: “It takes outstanding commitment and self-discipline to achieve a first class honours degree while playing sport at the highest level. We now look forward to hearing more success stories about Preston as he takes on the challenges ahead of him in his new career.”
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