Coin-toss kid treasures Henry Nicholls' gloves
He got a pair of leftie gloves from Henry Nicholls and didn’t get to meet Ish Sodhi but that doesn’t mean Theo Baker isn’t over the moon. That’s because Baker got to hang out with the Black Caps and accompany captain Kane Williamson and his Bangladesh counterpart, Masrafee Bin Mortaza to the wicket during the opening one-day international in Napier on Wednesday. “I was hoping to meet Ish because he’s a legspinner and so am I,” said the 12-year-old, who was the winner of the ANZ-sponsored coin-toss kid at McLean Park. “I was really excited because I got to meet the Black Caps,” he said. “I was also very lucky. I got on TV and went out there to do the coin toss.” The year 8 pupil will no doubt become the subject of discussion at his Taradale Intermediate School for the rest of the week. While the coin rolled Bin Mortaza’s way, he was hoping Williamson had flipped the coin New Zealand’s way but, overall, he was satisfied the Black Caps were able to complete a compelling victory. That had gone a fair way to appeasing the disappointment of watching the Kiwis stumble to India here in the opening series late last month. Baker, whose grandmother Bev Baker is a regular fixture during domestic and international matches as a scoreboard book keeper on the premier perch at the main Harris Stand at the park, also received a pair of batting gloves from opening batsman Henry Nicholls. The youngster, whose father Glenn Baker used to play club cricket, was pleased he had won the competition, agreed he could have grown into the gloves if they were right-handed ones but they’ll now have pride of place in his bedroom. He was hoping to get the batsman to autograph the gloves but Nicholls had to rush off to the changing rooms to prepare for the game shortly after the warm up. Nicholls’ was the first wicket to fall. He scored 53 runs from 80 balls before an unlucky delivery from right-arm spinner Mehedi Hasan Miraz clipped his bat and pad before hitting the stumps. Baker’s mother, Felicity, had submitted his name online almost two months ago as an ANZ client. “She told me I had won about two weeks ago when I came back home from school,” he said. Baker also got to meet and take photographs with speed merchant Lockie Ferguson, wicketkeeper Tom Latham, and allrounders Jimmy Neesham and Colin de Grandhomme. A school second XI cricketer, who bats and bowls, the former Onekawa School pupil hopes to take his game as far as he can.