Thomas, 20, Hannah, 18, and Jack, 16, O’Connor are following in the run-up of their father, former Black Caps swing bowler Shayne O’Connor, and carving out their niche in the game.
They have all represented Otago at age group level, and Hannah has recently returned from Malaysia, where she played for New Zealand at the ICC Under-19 T20 World Cup.
Thomas plays for Otago A and Jack made the Otago under-17 side this season.
Jack, who opens the batting and bowling for the John McGlashan First XI, is more of an all-rounder whereas the other two are bowlers.
Jack recently made his Hawke Cup debut for Otago Country.
Actually, Thomas, Jack and Shayne all made their Hawke Cup debuts at Ashburton Domain.
But only one of the O’Connors forgot their whites that day and it was not Thomas or Jack.
Shayne, whose preparation was usually best described as meticulous, had to borrow some gear.
The lanky left-armer played in strides with his ankles poking out and collected the dubious "white coat" award for his sins.
It is a tradition that continues to this day.
Thomas is a lefty like his old man. He has not quite mastered the art of swinging the ball like his dad.
"Oh, I try to but I don't have it quite as proficiently as he does," Thomas said.
He has picked up a couple of wickets for Otago A this season and has had a strong summer for CDK in the Dunedin premier grade, nabbing 14 scalps at 18.86.
"I’m trying to work my way through the ranks. Keep working hard to take the next step up. The Volts is the current goal."
The "dream come true" would be to play international cricket.
Hannah has already had a taste of international cricket at age group level.
The right-arm swing bowler is focused on performing "at the highest level" as well.
Her stock ball swings back into the right-hander but her outswinger is a work in progress. It was something she used to be able to do naturally.
The trio honed their early skills in the hallway of their former family home in Alexandra, so those backyard battles mostly took place under a roof.
"We had a nice little corridor indoors where we played a lot of our cricket," Thomas said.
"We used a nice soft ball and were always charging in."
Funny. They are still charging in and bowling in the corridor — the corridor of uncertainty.
Dad is not the only influence on the trio. Their mother, Camille (nee Grubb) was a very handy netballer in the Otago Rebels days and has handed down some sporty genes.
And there might be a fourth sibling in the cricket pipeline. Alysha (13) plays the game as well.
