PORT Macquarie cricketers will sorely miss the man who used to sit on the hill and talk sport with them on a Saturday.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Arthur Hollis, a legend of cricket in the Hastings, passed away on Tuesday from illness.
The 85-year-old Hollis made an extraordinary contribution to the game he loved.
He amassed 137 hundreds and three double centuries in a fantastic contribution to the game.
Hollis finished his first grade career at age 50 before moving on to become an HRDCA administrator and North Coast selector. He was keen to give back to the game he loved even when he was no longer playing.
He lent his name to the medal which recognises the best player from first grade every season.
Tributes to Hollis flowed on the Hastings River District Cricket Association Facebook page, with many of its members keen to "raise a glass" to him. HRDCA president Shane Williams said Hollis would be sorely missed.
"He's a great loss to the Hastings cricket community," Williams said.
Long after his retirement, you could find Hollis on the hill at Oxley Oval, where he was always keen to pass on his wealth of knowledge to the current players.
He was also a regular at association presentation nights, where Hollis would present the award named after him.
Two years ago, Williams took a visiting Doug Walters to Hollis's house, where they chatted for an hour about playing against each other once many years ago.
"Doug still remembered the game," Williams said.
Williams said Hollis's career wouldn't come close to being matched in the modern game.
"There's no way anyone these days will ever come anywhere near these stats," he said.
"These days, you talk about two centuries as having a good year. He had 30-odd hundreds.
"To play first grade up until age 50, that's amazing."
Hollis's funeral will be today at 11am at the Innes Gardens Memorial Park Crematorium and Lawn Cemetery.
Plenty of people associated with cricket in the Hastings are expected to attend.
The association plans to have a minute's silence at the first game of the 2015-16 season to honour Hollis.