Gympie Cricket Legend Number 11 - Ian 'Chubby' O'Brien

Undoubtedly Ian 'Chubby' O'Brien was one of the most consistent run scorers in Gympie Cricket during a career with Colts Cricket Club that spanned from the 1970's through to the early 2000's. Chubby churned the runs out year after year with the familiar call 'come one' echoing around Albert Park every weekend. Chubby was renowned for scoring big hundreds and was a prize wicket for all of his opponents.

Name: Ian Alowishious O'Brien

Nickname: Chubb

A Grade Debut: 1977

Highest A Grade Scores: 225 v Valleys and 203 v Valleys 

Footnote: Josh Seaniger acknowledges he was lucky enough to play in both matches where Chubby tore Valley's (Gympie's dominant club in that era) to pieces with huge double centuries. He thinks that along with Nathan Nolan, Chubb is the only Colts player to have scored double hundreds in the past 30 years (if ever?). The 225 was one of the best knocks I have ever seen with terrific crickets shots rocketing of his bat all day. We were chasing 387 and got them by 5 o'clock. I remember it well because I was batting at 4 and Chubb, Steve O'Brien and Ken 'KJ' Johnston all went off and I finally went in to bat at 5.15 and got a first ball duck.

Highlight: 04/05 Grand final watching KJ bowl with 7 on the leg-side and he and Toddy fielding on the off-side and not touching the ball all day.

Funny Story: In Josh's opinion one of the more humorous stories during Chubb's career was the day Steve O'Brien (not known for his huge hitting) walked off at 5 pm drinks on 40 not out and saying he was going to go for his 100. Chubby roared laughter at his brother and said if you score a hundred this afternoon I will run around Albert Park naked next weekend. As Steve smashed the ball to bring up his hundred at 5.55pm Chubby was red faced and very quiet. Luckily for Chubb we had 20 inches of rain over the next five days and Albert Park was under 4 metres of water by the next weekend. Some say it was God sparing us.

Achievements: Chubb has too many achievements to list after winning numerous batting trophies from the GCA and Colts. He has also represented Gympie and the Sunshine Coast many times. However he did highlight two achievements. Scoring over 900 runs in a season (97/98) and winning the A Grade bowling average (yes folks this is a fact, not made up).

Favourite Sayings: COME ONE, XXXX Gold thanks and f##k off softy.

Favourite Song: Anything by Luiallan (don't know how to spell it).

Most Admired Gympie Cricketer: Craig Whittaker.

Gympie Cricket Legend Number 10 - RON BUCHHOLTZ

 

          Ron Buchholtz in full flight

It has taken me quite some time to finally write this article about "The Kumbia express" Ron Buchholtz a very respected Member of  Gympie, Wide Bay and QLD Cricket Communities who we sadly lost just prior to Christmas in 2018. 

A friend to many and a fierce competitor on the pitch Ron Buchholtz commanded respect whether you were a batsman facing his thunderbolts or playing in the many matches he adjudicated throughout the Wide Bay Zone. 

Ron achieved so much through his dedicated passion to cricket and his light still burns strongly among the people he inspired on that journey. He devoted himself to ensuring cricket was being played according to the Cricket Australia memorandum "The Spirit of Cricket" and the humble, hardworking, well respected former Police Officer was the perfect role model to motivate a change in culture. In 2018 just prior to his passing Ron was deservedly awarded the Cricket Australia National Community Official of the Year along with another award for the Queensland Cricket Community Umpire of the year. The former Wide Bay Cricket Co-ordinator, Wide Bay Selector, Umpires Co-ordinator, South QLD Cricket Delegate, QLD Country Cricket Delegate and Player Protection Officer certainly made a massive impact as a cricket administrator culminating in the highest honour bestowed upon a volunteer by Cricket Australia.

Unfortunately, despite possessing a God given gift that very few are physically granted 'Buch' probably never reached his full potential as a cricketer due to injury and work commitments. Unlike today where talented sportsman are supported financially and provided with the best sports medicine the dilemma 'Buch' faced back in the early 1980's was having to sacrifice his sporting ambitions to earn a wage to support his family. Undoubtedly if 'Buch' was starting his cricket career in the current era the talent he demonstrated would not have been ignored by Talent I.D Specialists and his chances of fulfilling his cricket ambitions would have increased 10 fold.

Despite his injury setbacks 'Buch' was a terrifying proposition to face for any batsman, a sling bowler who caused you to sight the ball very late, generating genuine speed and steepling bounce off a length. The first encounter I had with the former Toowoomba Grammar 1st X1 Captain and Brisbane University 1st grader cap number 447 was in my Gympie A-Grade debut. Having arrived at the wicket to open the batting I was immediately told by my senior partner that I could face the first ball - go figure. Prior to taking strike I remember being amused at how far back the Wests wicket-keeper was standing, some 30 metres or so, with my thought process immediately coming to the conclusion that this bloke must have been a crap keeper. After taking guard the thickset bowler sporting a mow and short cropped jet black hair ambled through his surprisingly short run up then hit his gather, I searched for the ball which I manged to sight a foot to the right of my head as it whistled past my right ear and through to the keeper. Seriously you could hear the ball making a whistling sound as it cut through the atmosphere. It was the quickest bowling I have ever faced up to that time and ever since. The next three balls ended with the same outcome I was seriously lucky they were not directed at my body as I was picking the ball up so late. An indication of how quick 'Buch' was bowling could be judged from my first scoring shot as I stabbed at a lifting delivery just outside off stump, it caught a thick edge and flew over gully to deep 3rd man hitting the boundary fence near the canteen end of the Albert Park grandstand on the full. Thinking about it now sends shivers up your spine, what if that was my head? Fortunately thoughts like that never entered your head as an 18 year old, but I will never forget the pace he generated that day and how my hands were still shaking when we hit the bowls club at the lunch break for alcoholic refreshments or were they sedatives?

Interestingly former Gympie Valleys wicket-keeper batsman Dominic Ovenden who payed 2nd X1 for Queensland and was the recipient of the Peter Burge Medal the highest honour for a Brisbane 1st Grade Cricketer, indicated that the quickest bowler he faced during his cricket career was Ron Buchholtz. Considering Dom faced all the top QLD 1st Class paceman during his first grade career highlights the natural ability and potential 'Buch' possessed. That potential won him selection in the QLD under 19 team in 1978 and his first 2 balls against Victorian u19 resulted in him claiming the wickets of former Victorian 1st class opener Gary Watts and former test legend Dean Jones, 2 for 0 you little beauty. Following that achievement Ron featured in University's 1st Grade team in the late 70's under the Captaincy of Keppler Wessels. After leaving Brisbane following his posting to Gympie as a policeman the highest representative honour 'Buch' achieved with QLD Country Cricket was selection in the SQ Open team and he performed admirably against our northern rivals in these fixtures.

Fittingly 'Buch' retired from cricket as a winner after a devastating spell of fast bowling on a damp wicket of 7 for 11 blasted defending Premiers and Minor Premiers Harlequins out for an embarrassing total of 29 breaking Harlequins 2 year undefeated run of matches.

Ron 'Buch' Buchholtz is a welcome addition to the Legends of Gympie Cricket. We all miss you mate.      

Miscellaneous Matches played by Ronald Buchholz (4)

Note that the only matches included in this list are those for which CricketArchive has a scorecard on its database

	12th November 1983	Other matches in Australia 1983/84		North Queensland v South Queensland	Kalka Shades, Rockhampton	misc5528
	13th November 1983	Other matches in Australia 1983/84		North Queensland v South Queensland	Kalka Shades, Rockhampton	misc5529
	24th November 1984	Other matches in Australia 1984/85		North Queensland v South Queensland	Association Ground, Rockhampton	misc5242
	25th November 1984	Other matches in Australia 1984/85		North Queensland v South Queensland	Association Ground, Rockhampton	misc5244

 

                  

    

        

 

                               

Gympie Cricket Legend Number 9 - 'BIG' JOHN McCLINTOCK

John McClintock aka 'Big John'

The Legends of Gympie Cricket would not be complete without celebrating the career of Big John McClintock. An irrepressible match winner who could turn a game on its head with his audacious stroke play, he will forever be a favourite teammate to many due to his resolute leadership especially in a crisis. Big John's batsman-ship probably wouldn't appeal to the purists eye but wow could he play, the power of his stroke play with a simple flick of the wrists was unbelievable. His signature shots included thrashing pullshots, thumping straight drives and power laden backfoot punches through the offside field. Never one to let a bowler dictate terms he destroyed many bowling attacks by combining his signature strokes with the more outlandish ramp and sweep shots he regularly implemented against the fastest of bowlers, much to their dismay. As the most prolific century maker with an astonishing 13 centuries in the 68 year history of Harlequins Cricket Club, he can feel satisfied after being told on debut by an opposition Valleys player 'you will never make it in A-Grade young fellow' following his dismissal for 14 which typically comprised of 2 fours and a six. To John's credit he never shied away from his aggressive approach to batting and despite the early doubters he successfully transitioned to higher levels of cricket punishing the best representative attacks throughout both Wide Bay and Sunshine Coast regions. Even at the age of 43 he managed to score a century in Sunshine Coast 1st division fixtures, 118 against the Tewantin Noosa Thunder in the 2004-05 season and to top it off scored his last A-Grade century of 141 for Harlequins against Valleys aged 50.

Of the many great innings Big John played two in particular stand out in his mind. The first being an innings of 52 not out in partnership with Craig Whittaker for Valleys in the 1994-95 Grand Final which clutched victory from the jaws of defeat against Wests in the last session of play. The second an innings of 111 not out against Wests in December 1984 in which he shared a double century partnership with Ken Mahoney 120 not out. In this particular match Harlequins were in a hopeless position of 3 down for not too many at the 3pm drinks break after Wests had nearly batted for a day and a half. Big John and Ken Mahoney were under strict orders from Harlequins Skipper Darryl Fink to play for a draw but in typical Big John fashion no chase was ever considered impossible and Harlequins much to Finky's surprise, claimed victory in the match just after 5pm. John played many innings like these two classics however, a real indication of his skill as a batsman is the ability he possesses to play different types of innings depending on the situation of a game. Two innings I recollect he played for Harlequins really highlight his ability to defend for long periods of time if required to do so. Struggling with only 7 players Harlequins were 3 wickets down for less then 10 runs on a wet wicket against defending Premiers Valleys when Big John strode to the wicket to join me during his homecoming season in 1995 after a 2 year hiatus with Valleys. John was determined not to go down without a fight as he was worried about tarnishing the clubs good reputation if we just folded meekly. After battling hard for over 3 and a half hours on a very difficult wicket against quality opposition he remained unbeaten on 80 not out but unfortunately defending 140 odd with only 7 players in 20 overs was not possible and disappointingly his efforts were in vain. The second example of his tenacity under fire was against Wests on Albert Park number 2 wicket. After finishing work at 3.00pm I arrived at the ground to find Harlequins in a hopeless position of  8 for 30 with 2 and a half hours left till stumps. Within 5 minutes of arriving I joined Big John in the middle and some 2 hours or more later I was standing at the non strikers end as he took strike to the last over of the day delivered by part time bowler Ross Gibbs. Unfortunately Gibbsy skidded one through John's defence with 2 balls to go till stumps ending his determined innings of 60 and robbing us of a gutsy draw but one thing that wasn't stolen from the group of Harlequins players that day was our respect for a man who bleeds Harlequins colours.

Big John's thoughts on Gympie Cricket:

Favourite batsman - Wayne Cooley (Harlequins)

Favourite Bowler - Greg 'Whisker' Walker (Valleys)

Favourite Keeper Batsman - Greg Hornsby (Wests)

Best Club Captain - Dean Chandler (Harlequins/Colts)

Best Tactical Captain - Brad Millard ( Harlequins/Colts)

Best Bowling Attack From Same Team - Kev Goatham, Brett Manthey, John Kropp, Bernie Jones and off-spinner Wayne Cooley (Harlequins 1988-89)

Best Innings - Steve Brady (Gold vs Caloundra) and Gary Beutel (South Burnett Juniors vs Gympie Juniors)

Favourite All-rounders - Josh Brady (Valleys), Troy Ashton (Valleys) and John Kropp (Harlequins)

Best Bowling Spell faced - Les Mitchell (Valleys) and Brad Jorgensen (Wests)

Best Stumping - Shaun Ringuet (Harlequins)

Best Fielder - Phil Dresher (Valleys)

Most Respected Cricketer - Scott McIntosh (Wests)

Hardest Batsman to Dismiss - Roy O'Brien (Colts) and Lumpy Williams (Wests)

Most Enjoyable Partnership - Batting with Bernie Jones when he scored his 1st ever 50 at number 11.

Biggest sixes - Russell Tompkins (Harlequins) Ken Johnston (Colts)

Most Support as a Junior - Eric and Norm McClintock (Valleys) and Paul Tierney (Wests)

Best Coaching Lesson - Merv Pratt (Wests) at Dagun Tennis Courts.

True Club Hero - Shane Kropp for saving Harlequins, possessed the best cover drive and was a fantastic mentor for up and coming juniors.

Best recent Moments - Opening of the new facilities at One Mile Sports Complex and witnessing the adoring public reaction towards Courtney Sippel.

Best Substitute - Gympie u19 when playing a Brisbane Norths u19 team featuring future QLD opening batsman Robbie Kerr brought in Carl Rackemann from South Burnett as a replacement.

Favourite Moment - Watching Mick Walsh's face after winning his 1st premiership with Harlequins in 2011-12.

Best Example of what Cricket Means to Spectators - Watching the mood changes Nick Laffey (Harlequins) endured as Joe Laffey attempted to negate the nervous nineties and witnessing the despair on the young fellas face when he came up a run or two short.

Big John did not share a funny story but this golden moment shouldn't pass through to the keeper unnoticed. During the annual contest between the Gympie Silvers and the Queensland Cricketers Club it looked like the Silvers were headed for our first ever victory over the southerners when we found ourselves in a commanding position with overs running out and the QLD Cricketers Club innings on its heals. Enter Big John batting low in the order and he counter attacked with momentum swinging rapidly in favour of the QLD Cricketers Club. However, with 14 runs needed off the last over and Big John at the non-strikers end the Silvers could nearly taste the cold frosty victory beers. Mick 'Caveman' Cave was thrown the ball by Skipper Scott McIntosh. Still worried I walked over to Cavey and told him to bowl full and straight, John regained the strike with 4 balls to go and Cavey produced the perfect yorker length ball which could only be dug out - no run, 13 needed off 3, I am thinking we are home. Well so much for that, Big John faked a charge and Cavey dug one in which ended up in the BMX complex over the midwicket fence. Still 7 off 2 balls were required but the pressure got to Cavey and Big John launched him for a six and a four to ice the game in style. Bloody hell we were disappointed victory had been pinched from us by one of our own and to make matters worse former QLD Wicket-keeper Lew Cooper saved the best roast till the presentations. On awarding Man of the Match Lou brought the house down when he stated, "Well I guess this would be like sticking a pineapple up you Gympie boys arses but todays man of the match is the pineapple farmer himself, big John McClintock". Yes Lou, the man with the red soil stained Dunlop volleys caused plenty of heartache for opposition teams that is for sure.

              

Finally Big John would like to acknowledge that Cricket is a great game but the people involved in the game is what makes it special. Yes so true John and to your credit you have made Cricket special with your friendship, leadership, mentoring and exciting approach to playing the game. I and many others have been lucky to share the field with you.  

     

 

     

     

  

                                  

           

 

Gympie Cricket Legend Number 8 - TROY ROWLANDS

Troy 'DJ' 'Roly' Rowlands

                                                   

Back in the late 70's and early 80's McDonnell Park Southside bubbled with enthusiastic young cricketers who had primed their games in back yard 'Test Matches' prior to taking on the greater challenge of competing against other neighbourhood hopefuls on the parks more expansive boundaries. Troy 'DJ' 'Roly' Rowlands was one of these young starry eyed cricketers who fell in love with the game competing in the highly competitive environment these contests demanded. Thus the seed was planted for his long 25 year association with Gympie Cricket.

Much was achieved during Roly's involvement with Gympie Cricket. He represented both Colts and Harlequins Clubs with distinction, Captained Colts, Captained Gympie and represented Gympie Cricket as President of the Association, a true sign of the respect for which he is held.

    

A stylish wicket-keeper batsman, he is rated by many as the best keeper batsman produced by Gympie in the last 40 years and for those who played with or against him very few could argue this point. Good enough to hold his place in any team as a top order batsman he scored 2 Gympie A-Grade centuries, but I am sure he would of scored many more if not for his hiatus with Sunshine Coast Cricket. Troy's highest representative honours included selection in the Sunshine Coast Gympie team but advancing further was probably suppressed because of his innovative decision to wear shin guards rather then wicket-keeping pads long before this was an accepted practice. Like many of Gympie's better Cricketers prior to the formation of the Gympie Gold X1, 'Roly' wanted to challenge himself further and made the decision to compete in the Sunshine Coast 1st Division Competition with Tewantin Noosa where he played a lot of his best cricket. Thankfully, he returned to Captain his foundation club Colts and was rewarded with his 1st Gympie Premiership in his retirement year after implementing a more serious approach to skills based training and fitness. The highlight of his representative career was beating Bundaberg ( who had Australian and Qld Country players in their team ) in a Goodchild Rep game with only 10 guys and then having only 9 guys after one was sent to hospital with a split webbing. Gympie had to chase a huge total that day and Mitch O'Hara and 'Roly' steered the team home for a most memorable win.

The Colts team of the late 80's featuring players of the calibre of Ian 'Chubby' O'Brien, Steve O'Brien, Glyn 'Wally' Brook and Col Steinke to name a few was rated by 'Roly' as the best club team he played in.  During his early years in A-Grade he learnt a lot about playing competitive cricket from this bunch of guys.

Roly's thoughts on Gympie Cricket:

Favourite Club team mate - Josh Seaniger

Most annoying team mate - Mitch O'Hara 

Most annoying opposition player - Gary Smith

Best friend made playing cricket - Shaun Savage

Most respected player - Ian 'Chubby' O'Brien 

Best cricketer played against in Gympie - Brad Petersen

Best Batsmen - Shane Kropp

Fastest Bowler - Kev Goatham 

Best Spinner - Darren Page

Best Allrounder - Ken 'KJ' Johnston

Best Wicketkeeper - Mitch O'Hara 

Best Fielder - Dean Long 

Best Captain - Ian 'Chubby' O'Brien

Best Sledger  - Danny Mahoney 

Gympie team nemesis -Valleys

Troy's funniest Story features Jim Geiger who he recollects used to tell some of the funniest stories ever on the rep bus trips. One that stands out was about him playing in the early days at Albert Park. He was batting and he was facing a fast bowler. Well the bowler had bounced him 3 balls in a row and on the fourth ball he caught the bouncer that was flying over his head. Nonchalantly he chucked it back to the bowler and said, "now pitch the bloody thing up so I can hit something".  Other notable stories would include Jim's famous bandicoot stew and the odd nudie run around the servo's on the bus trips always provided plenty of laughter with Mr  Ian 'Gossy' Gosschalk.

Reflecting on his involvement in Gympie Cricket, Troy enjoyed giving back to the game during his 10 year tenure on the committee in the roles of Vice President and President. He still loves the game that bought him so much enjoyment over many many years and cherishes the friendships that result from playing a team sport.

Finally he would like to remembered as someone that had a little bit of talent, someone who gave their all for his club and town , was a determined player and never gave his wicket away easy. Rest assured Troy we can all agree with that.                        

          

Gympie Cricket Legend Number 7 - STEVEN BRADY

Steven 'Brades' Brady

Prodigiously talented Wide Bay Flames Skipper, Gympie Gold, Valleys and Goodchild Shield representative batsman Steven 'Brades' Brady has been pulverising bowling attacks in the Wide Bay and Sunshine Coast region with his ultra aggressive approach to batting since making his senior cricket debut as a 14 year old with the 1998-99 Gympie Junior Cricket team that at the time competed in Gympie's Reserve Grade competition. Stevo's swashbuckling batting style has been rewarded time and time again, racking up highlights other players can only dream about. Some of his more destructive innings have been against Caloundra, punishing the 'Lighthouses' at Roy Henzell Oval to produce the 2nd highest individual score in Sunshine Coast 1st Division fixtures of 254 in the 2013-14 season. This effort followed a spectacular 177 off 81 balls against Caloundra at Albert Park during the 2010-11 season on his way to posting the highest ever individual one day score in Sunshine Coast 1st Division One Day fixtures. To highlight his dominance during this particular innings, he blasted 100 of the first 109 runs in a partnership with former Sunshine Coast Scorchers 1st Grade opening batsman Lewis Waugh smashing 96 of these runs in boundaries (14 sixes and two fours), accompanied by a two and two singles.

Typical of his aggressive mindset, he rates an innings of 51 off 14 balls against Wests during which he smashed quality fast bowler Wayne 'Sleezo' Sleeman for 32 off one over as Valleys chased an improbable outright at the insistence of skipper Darren Fanshaw. Fielding the powerfully struck strokes whistling off the blade of 'Brades' can be a nightmare at the best of times but under lights it is nearly mission impossible, an experience I did not enjoy one bit when fielding at extra cover during Stevo's innings of 109 in a T20 innings for the Gympie Gold versus the Gympie All Stars in 2009. Dead set I thought someone would get maimed such was the ferocity of his hitting as balls were pounded to all parts of Albert Park. Unequivocally a batsman of such talent would have been very successful if the opportunity to play Grade Cricket in Brisbane arose. Anyone who witnessed his 80 for Gympie versus the ACA Masters featuring former Australian fast bowlers Andy Bichel and Michael Kasprowicz can attest to his ability as he proceeded to blaze both big name bowlers across the 4 lane Bruce highway. Throughout 176 games for the Gympie Gold he has been consistently one of the highest run scorers in Sunshine Coast 1st division fixtures amassing 5551 runs with 6 centuries and 31 fifties.

Winning the 2015-16 Sunshine Coast 1st Division Premiership is the pinnacle so far in his cricket career, a moment Stevo claims was the best game ever played by the best team he ever had the privilege of representing. Other highlights include being a member of Valleys 2002-03 Gympie Premiership team, winning 1 one day final with Gympie Valleys in 2010-11 and topping this off with a Sunshine Coast One Day final victory and 2 Sunshine Coast T20 final victories for the Gympie Gold.

During his 22 year involvement with Gympie Senior Cricket 'Brades' acknowledges there have been many outstanding individuals that he has had the pleasure of competing with and against. Below is his opinion of who tops each of the following criterion:

Favourite Team-mate - Travis Chandler

Most Annoying - Tyson Hillcoat

Best Friend - Travis Chandler

Most Respected - Brad Millard and Troy Ashton

Best Opposition Cricketer - 

Gympie have had some quality cricketers but Craig Millard tops the list. He was a very aggressive fast bowler that attacked you every ball, was a very decent batsman who was fast between the wickets and lightning in the field.

Best Batsman - Josh Brady

Best Fast bowler - Craig Millard

Best Spinner - Jason Johnston

Best All-rounder - Josh Brady

Best Wicket-keeper - Cameron Quinn

Best Fielders - Josh, Glen and Trevor Brady not being biased but gee they took some spectacular catches and made some great run-outs.

Best Captain - Troy Ashton

Best Sledger - Jason Johnston

Best Bowler never faced in a game - Brad Brigg

Always difficult to face in the nets. He had great variation leg cutters, off cutters, slower ball, quicker bouncer and was always changing it up.

To finish with a bit of humour Stevo wanted to share a memorable moment featuring his beloved Gold team-mates. Glasshouse Cricket ground is a shared facility with soccer and as such there is a mural of a soccer player with his feet apart and hands up. Hayden Mitchell in his debut year as a youngster was sent out to field on the boundary in front of this wall. TA sensing an opportunity for a bit of skylarking yells out "hey Haydos", do this as he jumps with his feet apart and hands up. Obviously trying to please such an experienced cricketer Haydos does exactly as he is asked and everyone in the field just cracked up laughing. Haydos looked exactly like the painting on the wall and was positioned right in front of it. TA just loves telling this story to any debutantes while travelling home on the bus and even though its been heard hundreds of times its still such a crack up.

Thank you for sharing your Gympie Cricket journey Steve Brady. In my honest opinion Stevo is the most talented Gympie cricketer I have witnessed in the last 30 years. A proven match winner both with the bat and in the field. Put simply he is the cleanest striker of the ball, safest pair of hands and one of the most athletic fieldsman that has ever put foot on Gympie Cricket's ovals.             

                             

Gympie Cricket Legend Number 6 - SHAUN SAVAGE

Shaun 'Sav' Savage

Former Scorchers 1st Grader, Gympie Colts, Gympie Valleys, Tewantin Noosa, Gympie Gold and Nambour fast bowler Shaun 'Sav' Savage is another quality cricketer who first plied his trade proudly wearing the sky blue and gold colours that represent his home town of Gympie.  

Sav played Gympie senior cricket from 1989-1996 and had the privilege of winning 1 Gympie A-Grade Premiership in that period. Never one to have a "big fish in little pond' mentality he decided to further his cricket taking the opportunity to compete in the Sunshine Coast 1st Division competition. Following some standout performances, he was eventually selected to make his Brisbane 1st Grade debut with the Sunshine Coast Scorchers and made an impression taking 58 wickets in 1st Grade fixtures over 2 seasons. Work commitments steered his cricketing journey to the Lennox Heads Cricket Club in NSW where he honed his leadership skills as skipper of the club leading them to their first Far North Coast LJ Hooker League semi final appearance. After returning to Gympie in 2008 Sav has played on and off with the Gympie Gold and has successfully used his leadership qualities to coach the team.   

When quizzed about his cricketing highlights Sav confirmed his individual peak was reaching a skill level that allowed him to compete at Brisbane 1st Grade standard and in regards to a team point of view the standout moment was winning Sunshine Coast's 1st Division Competition as a member of the Gympie Gold after falling short for so many years. Gympie's inaugural Sunshine Coast Premiership winning team was a great way to cap off his career but the most important thing for Sav was sharing the occasion with players past and present as well as the Gympie community in general. Interestingly, he holds the rare feat of winning 3 Sunshine Coast Premierships with 3 different Clubs and all 10 years apart (Tewantin Noosa 1996, Nambour 2006 and Gympie Gold 2016). After competing in the highest grade competition in QLD, it is also interesting to note that Shaun acknowledges the standard and quality of Gympie cricket back in the 1990's was high and the Colts side in the early 90's was a great side to be a part of as a young fella in what was a tough competition. 

The following is Shaun's assessment of Gympie cricketers who he concedes were the best in each criterion-

Favourite Gympie club teammate-

Ashley Sippel. We were on opposing sides playing rep cricket 25 years ago and had some great battles. He’s a quality bat and I enjoyed competing against him. When he joined the gold squad it was great to play along side him. Plus he ensured I wasn’t the oldest in the squad

Most annoying teammate-

Sheppo (when trying to give bowling advice ) 

Best cricketing friend-

Matt Kerr

Most respected opposition player- 

Shane Kropp was a quality cricketer and good role model for the young guys. Was always willing to offer advice to better your game. 

Best cricketer you played against-

Craig Whittaker 

Best batsman- 

Les Mitchell 

Best fast bowler- 

Gav Hourigan

Best Spinner- 

Les Mitchell 

Best all-rounder- 

Josh Brady /Craig Whittaker can’t split them

Best Wicket-Keeper- Troy Rowlands 

Best fielder-

Josh Brady

Best Captain- 

Brad Peterson

Best Sledger- 

Ashley 'Aspro' Pearce was always good value

Gympie team that proved to be your nemesis-

I recall anytime Colts played Valleys in the early 90s there was always plenty of chat and feeling.

Finally, Sav wanted to share his funniest Cricket story during his time playing Gympie Cricket. 

I remember playing a rep game in a combined Sunshine Coast / Gympie side against some team down at the old Cotton Tree ground on the coast. Chubby O’Brien was in the side and some how found himself fielding in the covers. The batsman has punched one past him to which he was the only one that gave chase. Mid-off and point haven’t moved a bit just watched . The ball has stopped just short of what was a massive boundary. Just as the batsman were about to head back for their 5th single, Chubby deliberately kicked it over the rope .

Thanks, Shaun, for taking the time to share your cricketing journey and thank goodness us poor old opening batsman don't have to compete against the young bloke in the above photo anymore.   

Gympie Cricket Legend Number 5 - TROY ASHTON

Troy 'TA' Ashton

No one could dispute the fact that Troy 'TA' Ashton has been among the best all-rounders Gympie Cricket has produced. A nagging seam up bowler, fluent stroke making batsman and an athletic fielder to boot, 'TA' has always been a tough competitor to play against. He is a difficult bowler to combat, as he uses his height to his advantage to jump the ball off a good length and has the ability to bowl long spells with outstanding accuracy allowing threatening bowling partnerships to form around his best work. With the stick in his hands he is equally as effective producing many fine match winning innings over the last 30 years for Valleys, Gympie Gold and Gympie Goodchild representative teams.

The success of Gympie Valleys, Gympie Gold and Gympie Goodchild Shield teams during TA's involvement is no coincidence. His performances as a skipper, senior player or as a talented youngster have always had a positive impact on the success of the teams he represented. As a crucial cog in 3 Gympie Valleys A-Grade Premierships and the maiden Gympie Gold Sunshine Coast Premiership winning team, TA obviously had many individual highlights in his journey, but as far as he is concerned being part of those premiership winning teams is the pinnacle of his career. A truly loyal clubman, TA also ranks the 'Grand Slams' (winning 'A', 'reserve' and 'C' grade premierships in the same year) with his beloved Valleys Club as moments he will always reflect on with satisfaction.     

The best Valleys team TA selected from individuals he has had the pleasure of gracing the field with would be very tough opposition in any era. The majority of this group won 8 premierships between the 1989-90 season and 1999-2000 season. 

Rob Cork
Peter Larner
Craig Whittaker
Darren Page
Les Mitchell
John McCLintock
Darren Hewitt
Ashley Pearce
Don Ison
Peter Treeby
Darren Fanshaw

The following players received TA's acknowledgement as the best in the below criteria:

Most Annoying Opposition - Danny ('Sheppo') Shepperson
Most Annoying Team-mate - Peter Larner would throw pieces of pitch at us constantly all day in the field.

Best Mate - Closest to Brad Millard but I have made a lot of great friends through Cricket.
Most Respected Opponent - Big John McClintock.
Best Cricketer I played against - Brad Peterson.
Best Batsman - Brad Peterson
Best Fast bowlers - Don Ison and Shaun Savage
Best Spin bowler - Darren Page
Best All-Rounder - Darren Page and Josh Brady
Best Wicket keeper - Ian Gosschalk (Gossy)
Best Fielder - Darren page Joshy Brady
Best Captain - Brad Peterson
Best Sledger - Ashley Pearce (Aspro)
Nemesis Team - West’s and Colts.

Following his long involvement with Gympie Cricket TA had many funny stories to share but he settled on this funny moment when playing for Valleys. For those of you who didn’t know Ian Clarkson, lets just say he always had an egg size lump on his forehead. The Valleys boys were at the pub one day and he was talking to Sam Benstead who had known Clarko for years. Sammy said to him, 'Jesus Ian who did you cop the bouncer from today cause it’s left a bloody big egg on your forehead', and with that said everyone just pisses themselves laughing. So Clarko tells him the story that he’s had it since his childhood. Sam replied, 'Well bloody hell I never even noticed it before'. 

Funnily enough TA, I do remember Clarko getting badged by Harlequins bowler Shane Brown and a massive egg forming on his head when we were playing you guys on Albert Park 1. He top edged a full toss straight into his melon and I am with Sammy, I never noticed the lump before that either!  

After 30 years of competitive cricket TA insists his most cherished cricket moment was the Gympie Gold's Grand Final win in 2015/16. After a few near misses the team finally accomplished Premiership success beating Maroochydore by staging a miraculous comeback after trailing on first innings. In Maroochydore's second innings Kayden Dickfos 3 wickets and the spell of the decade from Joshy Brady of 7 for 19 culminated in Maroochydore  being bowled out for 44. Chasing 110 for victory Ashley Sipple (48no) Steve Brady (62 no) led the Gympie Gold to a totally unexpected 10 wicket victory. The team partied like rockstars for days and Troy admits he will never forget it, he still gets goosebumps thinking about that afternoon.

Thanks TA for sharing your insights in regard to Gympie Cricket and for sharing your remarkable story. Hopefully more success is just around the corner.