It is the little things that keep Billy Ibadulla going.
The former Pakistan cricketer and long-serving Dunedin coach turned 80 on Sunday, but that does not mean it is time to slow down.
Ibadulla has run a private coaching clinic in Dunedin for the past 25 years, but coached in Dunedin as early as 1964, when he first came here to play for and coach Otago.
His most notable students are Glenn Turner, Ken Rutherford and Brendon McCullum.
Ibadulla played four tests for Pakistan in the mid-1960s.
He later played county cricket in England, before immigrating to New Zealand in 1976.
He still holds four coaching clinics a week at the Edgar Centre.
Two classes are made up of 9 to 11-year-olds, while there are separate classes for 14 and 15-year-olds and 16 and 18-year-olds.
In total, about 30 students attend his winter and summer sessions, including Dunedin senior cricketers Taine Bayly, Max Chu and Hunter Kindley, who scored 91 on debut against Green Island for North East Valley a few weeks ago.
All of his coaching is technical and he generally has no contact with the players when they are playing.
Ibadulla still "loves'' coaching and feels a certain responsibility because parents are paying for his services.
"Someone is paying for it, so I can't afford to let the coaching standards go down,'' he said.
"Especially when parents are sending two or three kids to my classes. At times I'm deeply touched by the confidence and trust the parents have in my coaching.
"That keeps me going.''
Parents do not just pay for Ibadulla's services.
One family even moved to Dunedin all the way from Auckland a few years ago so their son could be coached by him.
He later picked up a serious knee injury playing rugby and the family returned to Auckland, Ibadulla said.
Others travel from as far away as Central Otago after school so their children can be coached by the former international cricketer.
Ibadulla has even started working through generations of family members.
"People used to call me and ask if I could coach their son. Now, they say,'You coached me in 1965 when you came to our school, could you coach my grandson?'.
"That is amazing, and it has happened two or three times. It gives me a little bit of satisfaction that people remember.''
Another thing that keeps him going is the fact players he coached in the past still turn to him for advice.
He recently had a Dunedin senior club cricketer he coached nine years ago call him for advice because he was "unhappy''.
"It's that sort of thing that makes me feel wonderful. That people feel like they have to go back to Billy,'' he said.
In an exception to the rule of not having contact with players when they are playing, he once dished out some crucial advice to McCullum in the middle of a 2006 test against the West Indies.
McCullum, who was not out overnight, called Ibadulla in the evening for advice on how he should approach his innings the next day.
He went on to score 74, a crucial innings in a test New Zealand won by 27 runs.
Ibadulla, the youngest of six, had a low-key birthday celebration on Sunday.
Some of his siblings and other overseas relatives called him to congratulate him on the milestone.
As long as his body lets him keep going, he wants to keep coaching.
"As long as I can go to the cricket nets I want to carry on,'' he said.
"But let's be realistic, it can't go on forever. I'm not sure what's going to happen next winter. The weather will be much colder, the nights will be darker.''
Ibadulla had eye surgery earlier this year and, while his driver's licence was recently renewed, he is not permitted to drive in the dark.
His two- or three-hour classes are held after school, but he may need to make some changes in winter.
Ibadulla will take a six-week break from coaching after his final session of the year today.
