Australian spinner Peter Hatzoglou would not be on the verge of making his debut at Lord's if it weren't for the late, greatShane Warnie.
Hatzoglou is in the UK this summer after following the advice of the legendary Australia leg-spinner to play club cricket and try to get a contract.
Hatzoglou will face London Spirit in front of a full crowd on Saturday after being called up by Oval Invincibles.
It would be the end of a busy year for Hatzoglou, who was still working in Australia at the time.
"I've always sought out advice from those who've come before me and I reached out to Warne last year."
During his first Big Bash League appearance, Hatzoglou was praised by Warne, who said that he was a great bowler.
"I've been impressed with him," said the man. There would be a lot of interest in Hatzoglou around the world.
It's like having Lionel Messi compliment your dribbling skills or Tiger Woods endorse your golf swing if you're a leg-spinner. It doesn't improve.
One of the reasons I reached out to him was because I wanted to thank him.
Whenever I need a bit of a confidence boost, I watch that video from when he commented on one of my overs.
It's huge to have someone like him support me.
They last spoke in February this year, a month before the death of the spin legend, and they had developed a close relationship.
If it wasn't for him, I might not have come to the UK to play this season.
"After I got those messages from him, I asked my partner at work what he thought, and he said to just get out of here, go to the UK."
When you're asked to do something like that, you do it.
He quit his job and went to the UK to play cricket for Sawston and Babraham.
Three years ago, he didn't think he'd be sitting here looking over the Thames in a hotel with the Invincibles.
The cricket career of Hatzoglou was so unlikely that he took a year off to focus on his exams.
He said he hadn't played in a state cricket age-group team when he was 18.
While I was doing my Australian equivalent of A-Levels, I took a year off to focus on other things.
After completing his exams, Hatzoglou joined a village side in Victoria and became the club's treasurer.
He came to the UK to play cricket in the fourth division of the league.
It wasn't the most glamorous start to a cricketing career, but his talent was eventually spotted and he was drafted by the Renegades in the BBL in 2020.
In his first season of the Big Bash, he was still the club treasurer and still paid the third XI captain and umpire.
My story encourages people to keep going and hope for the best in a cricketing career.
Hatzoglou has not forgotten his roots despite his fame. He's descended from a Greek father and a North Macedonian mother.
It's always been important to him that he speaks both languages. I'm going to Greece later this year and possibly link up with the Greek cricket team.
Hatzoglou needs to revise before he goes to Greece. He will return to Australia and head to the library to get ready for his exams.
He said that studying for his exams takes up a lot of his time.
A really solid back-up plan is needed. It gives me a lot of freedom on the field.
Hatzoglou would be forgiven if he allowed himself some time off revision for a game of cricket.
All Rights Reserved © 2024
