Rupert Peter Owens Drysdale, who carries Bay of Plenty player number 498 with absolute pride, has seen the Bay Oval develop into a world-class venue since his first Bay game at the Blake Park ground in February 2010.
 
Just five years into development from a wasteland of sand, scrub and pine trees, the 2010 Bay Oval, was nothing more than a wicket block with a fast-drying outfield, with marquees erected as temporary changing facilities.
 
The target of four thousand minor association runs had stood out like a lighthouse, since Mike Wright pulled stumps on his cricket career in 1992, with 3950 runs to his name.
 
It took some 31 years before Bharat Popli would break Wright’s long-standing record, when belted 60 runs versus Waikato Valley at the Te Puke Domain, on the 22nd of January 2023.
 
It was a nice touch that standing alongside RPO Drysdale when he reached the elusive target, was Bharat Popli, who had joined him for a rare Bay of Plenty appearance from his ND professional cricket commitments.
 
Drysdale made his first Bay Oval appearance in his Bay of Plenty debut season, against Poverty Bay, in what was just the fifth time the Bay side had played a match at the future international ground.
 
The cricket contest was one-way traffic with Poverty Bay rolled for just fifty runs after they took first use of the wicket. The match was notable for the appearance of future Black Cap superstar, Trent Boult, who took two wickets at a cost of just 10 runs, in the Poverty Bay first innings.
 
Peter Drysdale posted his first Bay of Plenty half-century, within the Bay total of 198 declared for the loss of two wickets, posting an unbeaten 51 runs. He finished his debut representative season with seven games and a respectable 151 runs in the season record book.
 
His first season success led to a time where he became a cricket gypsy, travelling between Aotearoa and the Northern Hemisphere, from 2011 until 2015.
 
Pete’s journey north, saw him on the fringes of English County Cricket, with appearances for Leicestershire (2014) and Derbyshire (2015) second XI’s.
 
With his cricket wandering put behind him, Pete turned his attention to carving out a business career and going as far as he could in New Zealand Domestic cricket.
 
The start of the 2024/25 season, saw him with eight ND professional appearances and twenty-plus ND A games, in his cricket resume.
 
With the clock running on RPO Drysdale’s sixteenth Bay of Plenty representative season, it is worth running the rule over his NZC Minor Association marks, many of which will stand long into the future.
 
Peter Drysdale’s four thousand runs were accompanied by his 130th match in the Blue and Gold strip. Three centuries with a best of 119 sits alongside his new mark of 4032 runs. It took a little time before Pete established himself as a genuine all-rounder, where he sits with 77 bowling scalps and best bowling figures of 6/71 against Waikato Valley earlier this year.
 
The icing on the Drysdale cake - came in the NZC Hawke Cup defence against Counties Manukau, at the Bay Oval in 2017, when he combined with (then) Yorkshireman Alex Lees in a near two-hundred run partnership.
 
Bay of Plenty simply smashed their opponents out of the contest, finally being removed for 701. Lees, who would later play test cricket for England, set the Bays highest score of 223 and combined with Drysdale (84) in a 197 second wicket partnership.
 
With just one click on the Bay of Plenty senior men’s representative calendar there is likely to be more marks to smash by the legendary Bay of Plenty Cricket all-rounder.