HAMISH BIDWELL
Tony Pothan's mob haven't had a lot to shout about in recent seasons.
They've fielded some real stars and played some good cricket but, at the end of the day, the boys from Sideline Bar Napier Old Boys' Marist have had very little to show for it.
Which tells you a lot about why Pothan was so keen to ring Hawke's Bay Today when he heard former NOBM fast bowler Sajid Mahmood was making his test debut for England against Sri Lanka at Lord's.
Vicarious or not, success is success and Mahmood's former coach was keen to milk it for all it was worth.
"There'll definitely be a few late nights for the Marist guys and probably a few other Hawke's Bay boys who played against him, saw his potential and will be interested to see how he goes," said Pothan of Mahmood's debut, which is being televised live on Sky television.
"I don't know what it is with us. We've had our fair share of internationals, like Mathew Sinclair and Min Patel and now Saj, but we still can't win.
"Saj came out here for four months in late 2002 to be our overseas player and I've kept in touch with him through emails and texts. He and Mintos (Vaughan Minton) and Saj are pretty close and Mintos went to see him last year when he was playing a game for Lancashire. Unfortunately, he couldn't get to Lord's for the test but they've arranged to catch up later in the season.
"I I think he was 21 when he came to us and he was a pretty laid-back kind of guy and his bowling was definitely pretty rapid by club standards. If you talk to Fins (Craig Findlay), he'll tell you Saj is the quickest bowler he's faced in club cricket."
So "Fins", what do you reckon?
"I remember thinking that I thought he had the potential to be a bloody good bowler," the former Central Districts and Napier Technical Old Boys allrounder said.
"He bowled a lot of extras though and, luckily enough, when I faced him he bowled a 12-ball over and got taken off. But he was quick and he did really well in the longer version of the game, but in one-day cricket he probably didn't bowl straight enough to be effective.
"He was genuinely quick though and had a good physique and I must admit I did say to myself ,'shit, this boy's too quick for this old man'. He just had that raw pace and athleticism and you knew he had the potential to get right through to the top of the game."
Mahmood took 30 wickets for NOBM in just nine pre-Christmas matches and within 18 months he had made his One-Day International debut for England against New Zealand.
CRICKET: NOBM's old mate Sajid stepping up
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