If it wasn't for some 11th-hour politicking from a couple of Tauranga Boys College teachers, allrounder Brett Hampton could have easily been lining up for Cadets against Greerton in today's Williams Cup final at Mount Maunganui's Bay Oval.
Hampton will spearhead the Eves Greerton attack in the club's first Williams Cup final in almost 30 years - but nearly joined Element IMF Cadets when he left school.
"It was a toss up between Cadets and Greerton and initially I was definitely going to be a Cadets player," the 20-year-old said. "I talked to a few teachers at school and they encouraged me to head to Greerton instead, saying Greerton probably needed the numbers more than Cadets did and could do with someone to help strengthen them.
"Winning last weekend and making the final makes decisions like that worthwhile."
Unfancied Greerton tipped up top qualifiers and defending Williams Cup champions Mount Maunganui last weekend in one of the upsets of the season, winning in the final over by eight runs on the back of Ben Williams' 81 with the bat.
Hampton said it was more relief than jubilation when Greerton snared the key wicket of Mount skipper Daniel Hill in the last over. "We had it in the bag really but Hilly batted well and almost took it away from us. The key was not panicking but we'll probably need to be a bit more clinical in the final to get the result we want."
In the last round-robin clash between the finalists two weeks ago Greerton were anything but, wrecking Cadets' top order to have them 42-6 before Jono Boult's 37 inched his side through to 127. Greerton should have knocked that off with ease but they were all out for 75.
"To restrict them to 127 was a pretty good effort in the field and all we needed to do was get the runs but the pressure got to us. We've talked about the game and put it behind us."
Hampton has been on the fringes of Northern Districts selection for a couple of seasons and finally debuted for the Knights in January in their HRV Cup Twenty20 clash with Otago at Seddon Park.
But it didn't go entirely to plan, as Otago thrashed the short-form strugglers, chasing down 187 for the loss of just one wicket on the back of Brendon McCullum's 49-ball 100, with Hampton tonked for 17 runs off his solitary over.
Despite the pounding, the taste he's had at the top level domestically his fired him for next season. "Although it was only one game, now I'm hoping to cement a spot in other formats as well, not just Twenty20, although to do that I'll need to be more consistent with bat and ball."
Cadets are the benchmark in the Williams Cup competition since winning the trophy for the first time in 1994-95 and will today chase their 10th one-day title in 20 years.
In contrast, Greerton won consecutive Williams Cup titles shortly after the club was re-established three decades ago but have gone 27 years without success in the competition.
"It's been talked about a bit this week because it's been a long time for Greerton in this competition," Hampton said.
"Guys like Muzz [Murray Jarvis], Marcus [Niles] and Buddy [skipper Craig Budd] have been playing for Greerton a long time so it'd be great for them, but we've tried not to make it too big a focus because no one wants to go into a final too overwhelmed by history."
Hampton favours batting first if Budd wins the toss, figuring runs on the board could be crucial, but is mindful of Cadets' threat across the park, spearheaded by four of their top six - Joe Carter, Jono Boult, Matthew Drake and Scott Steward - playing for Bay of Plenty, and plenty of bowling firepower, with New Zealand under-19 seamer Sean Davey in good form after his post-Christmas return from injury.
But having made a rare final by toppling the hot favourites, don't expect Greerton to be overwhelmed today.