Making it into Makoura College's premier side for this season was a huge thrill for Haira and he has thrived on the challenge of pitting himself against the province's best female talent.
He plays in defence and, under the expert tutelage of experienced coach Dayle Clarkson, he has fast come to grips with the tactics involved in keeping pressure on the opposition shooters.
"You have to be quite aggressive, you have to get stuck in."
Haira's involvement in refereeing was also a matter of chance more than intention.
He had gone to the canteen at the Colombo road courts for a quick snack, learned that applications for a refereeing course were being taken and decided to participate "just to see if I liked it".
Like it he did and there, too, he has proved himself a quick learner, progressing swiftly through the ranks to the point where he was appointed to control the Pioneer Blue v Hells Hot Shots regional one fixture on Saturday.
Not one to suffer too much from nerves, Haira was "absolutely rapt" with the way things panned out, saying the players on both sides had accepted his rulings in a positive manner. "Everybody was awesome, it was good fun."
