Cricket: New life members have CVs to envy

Harry Findlay (back row, 2nd from left) and Dale Smidt (back row, right) new NTOB life members.

The Napier Technical Old Boys Cricket Club have elected two new life members after its 95th annual meeting at Whitmore Park clubrooms in Napier last month.

They are Harry Findlay and Dale Smidt.

Findlay has given a lifetime of service to cricket and has been instrumental in the development of the Tech junior programme over the past 15 years.

In that time he has taken Saturday morning teams, year 4 and 5 teams to cricket camps, coached Milo Have A Go cricket and managed the premier team to the national club championship.

All three of Findlay's sons have been influential players for Tech over the past 25 years.

"The uniqueness of this award is that Harry had previously been awarded a life membership of Napier Old Boys' Marist in the early 1990s and that is a club still operating," the meeting was told.

He is also a life member of HBCA, its current president and has been a past-president of CD Cricket.

Findlay was awarded the QSM in 2012 and the International Cricket Council medal for services to cricket.

"He is truly Mr Cricket in Hawke's Bay," the meeting heard.

Smidt has been a member of the Tech club since leaving school in 1980 and was a player at premier, senior and president's grades for 30 years. He has been club treasurer and held various other administration roles with the club over the years.

For the past few years he has been the premier team coach/selector.

Smidt has two sons playing for the premier team.

He has held the fulltime job of cricket development manager of the HBCA for the past decade.

Officers elected at the 95th AGM: Patron, Jack Dale; president, David Caldwell; chairman, Les Kennedy; secretary, Jacqui Gardiner; treasurer, Alan Little.

Management committee: Ash Watson, Mike Pawson and Ronnie Turner.