Cricketer notches up 200 matches
CHB cricketer James Mackie recently racked up 200 premier matches for his club.
“He’s a great competitor, a good player and a good club man,” said Ruahine Motors Central Hawke’s Bay CC coach Daniel Drepaul of Mackie, after his side shared the points with Heretaunga Building Society Cornwall CC in round three of the Property Brokers 55-over competition in December.
Drepaul said the former Pay Excellence Hawke’s Bay senior men’s representative cricketer had a knack for turning their fortunes around and that made him valuable.
“He comes in at crunch times so there aren’t too many players you can bring in at times like that.”
A reliable top-order batsman in one-dayers, Mackie often dropped to middle order in the longer formats but also had the uncanny ability to take scalps as a part-timer if the captain chucked him a ball when opposition batsmen had forged defiant partnerships.
Running the AMP Leith Mackie insurance business in partnership with his father Tim and Brian Leith in Waipukurau, Mackie was recalled to the Bay senior men’s rep team in 2013 after then coach Lincoln Doull sought reliability during their Hawke Cup campaign.
He said at 38 and with a young family now, making the travel early Saturday mornings to Napier was becoming a challenge.
“It’s time for the younger boys to step up,” said the cricketer, who is proud to have scored a century against other Bay clubs.
The best was the unbeaten 101 runs against Innovative Electrical Napier Technical Old Boys in the title-winning oneday final at Ongaonga in December 2012.
For him, the camaraderie with teammates was the highlight, although it was also about competing at a higher level.
“I was never going to be a Black Cap but I played for Hawke’s Bay and that was the highlight for me as a club cricketer.”
Mackie considered it an honour to play alongside and against players of the ilk of Lance Hamilton, Kruger van Wyk, Doug Bracewell, Mathew Sinclair and Blair Tickner.
“We’re very fortunate in New Zealand to rub shoulders and to train and play with and against the very elite guys because you don’t get that anywhere else in the world. We’re so lucky at CHB, you know, and we’ve got Josh [Clarkson] and Ticks who’ll hopefully push on to for Black Caps because we’ve only got 16 cricketers in CHB.”
Mackie said he was proud CHB were still competitive, with players travelling up to 90 minutes just to train.