Australian leg-spinner Peter Hatzoglou has been drafted into The Hundred by Oval Invincibles as a replacement for West Indies legend Sunil Narine, who has left to go and play in the Caribbean Premier League.
Hatzoglou describes himself as an "accidental cricketer" and is getting his first opportunity in an overseas tournament after winning Big Bash League with Perth Scorchers back in January. Until recently, the 23-year-old was balancing his sporting endeavours with a job as a risk management consultant at KPMG but has now chosen to focus solely on cricket following conversations with the late, great Shane Warne.
In an interview with ESPNcricinfo, Hatzoglou revealed he messaged Warne on Instagram during lockdown in July 2021 and, to his surprise, Warne responded. "I didn't have a state contract," Hatzoglou said.
"I felt like I didn't have any people to bounce ideas off. I knew he was in Melbourne at the time so I just reached out to him, thinking, 'what's the worst that can happen?'"
The pair continued to speak via Instagram DMs and, after Hatzoglou won the Big Bash, Warne suggested he spend the Australian winter plying his trade in England and that there could be an opportunity to play under him at London Spirit in The Hundred.
Tragically, Warne passed away in March after suffering a heart attack while on holiday in Thailand and Hatzoglou decided to make the trip to England after speaking with a friend, Andrew Papageorgiou, shortly after Warne's death.
"He told me, 'Pete, mate, they don't do state funerals for accountants' and I was just like, 'right, I've got to get over there'," Hatzoglou added. He ended up playing for Sawston and Babraham Cricket Club in Cambridge and spent time as a net bowler with several counties.
Although he missed out on a T20 Blast gig and a stint with London Spirit, Hatzoglou could now make his Hundred debut for against the Spirit at Lord's on Saturday after joining Oval Invincibles. "It's come full circle," he admitted.
"When he [Warne] passed away, people spoke about how much time he had for others and that's 100% true in my case. He didn't owe me anything - I was just some young punk who came onto the T20 scene - but he gave me more time than I could have ever asked for."
