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| Rod 'Red V' Venn |
Former Brisbane Valley fast bowler, the fiery Rod 'The Red V' Venn, stormed into Gympie Cricket 13 years ago and is still as competitive as always, a true warrior with a big heart who never gives the opposition an inch. The respect Venny has earned both on and off the field during his stint with Gympie Cricket has culminated in him being elected as President of Gympie Regional Cricket, an honour he respects dearly as it gives him an opportunity to give back to the game he truly loves.
It just goes to show you should never label people on first impressions and my first impression of Rod was thankfully way off the mark. In our first confrontation on Albert Park number 1 wicket Venny was putting everything into his work, determined to make an impression on the contest. After I produced some stubborn resistance he finally had the last say and didn't he give me a send-off, pointing me back to the pavilion in no uncertain terms, "There is the sheds now f#?k off". Well needless to say after arriving back in the sheds I was not amused and let fly with a few obscenities of my own muttering to my team-mates, " Who the f#?k does this hero think he is" , "What a tosser" etc, etc as my rant continued. Honestly, knowing what I now know about Rod, I am embarrassed to admit that I actually said or even thought of him in such a way. The real story is that he is a dogged competitor, fiercely loyal, enormously trustworthy, modest and one of the most respectful blokes you could meet. Thankfully, after not getting off to the best start socially, I can now proudly acknowledge that Venny is one of my favourite team-mates with Veterans Cricket and most importantly a good mate who I respect enormously for his contributions to Gympie Cricket.
Typical of Rod's modest nature, individual performances are not rated as highly as the game itself or the performances of his team. His major highlights include being a member of 2 Gympie Valley A-Grade Premiership winning teams and he cherishes every time he takes the field to play the game he loves. While Rod holds both premierships closely to his heart the Gympie Valley Premiership team from the 2008/09 season receives Rod's gong as the best team, he has played in. This particular side had legendary Valley players Troy 'TA' Ashton and Craig Whittaker pushing the players towards success after a couple of lean years where the club failed to lift the Alf Spring Trophy. The win was also a deserving end to the competitive cricket career of gun batsman and Valley stalwart 'Whit'.
Rod would personally like to acknowledge the below individuals who in his opinion top each of the following criteria during his time at Gympie Cricket:
Favourite Gympie club team-mate? Craig Wilson - he is so passionate and gives his all.
Most annoying team-mate and opposition player?
Hands down the biggest deadset pest is Dane (Stiffy) Stievater, well off the field anyway he just can't help himself. The most annoying opposition player is a tough one, probably Chris Hughes because he is such a great competitor and part of the reason why Colts are our biggest nemesis.
Best friend you made playing cricket in Gympie? Craig Wilson.
Most respected opposition player? Ash Sippel.
Best batsman? Shane Walker.
Best fast bowler? Josh Brady.
Best Spinner? Jason Woods.
Best allrounder? Josh Brady.
Best Wicket-Keeper? Shane Walker.
Best fielder? Stephen Brady.
Best Captain? Stephen Brady.
Best Sledger? Chris Hughes (All in good fun).
Funnily enough Dane (Stiffy) Stievater does not rate a mention as Rod's funniest story but I can't let this fly through to the keeper. I must admit I piss myself laughing when Venny tells me the story about the first time 'Sargent Schultz' arrived at training on his moped scooter - absolute Gold.
However, Rod isn't really the type of guy who gets kicks out of taking the piss out of people, he is happy for them to have a joke at his expense.
With that in mind here is Rod's funniest story. Surprisingly Rod reckons he only played 2 games for the Gold and prior to his first game good mate Shaun Savage was into him saying imagine if you get a flyer and put it down, how will that go. Gees Sav talk about putting pressure on a mate. Anyway Josh Brady was bowling and Venny was perched at mid-on waiting nervously and yep you guessed it the batsman hit a flyer which the 'Red V' dropped like a Pommy fullback with Mal Meninga bearing down on top of him. Well you can imagine Josh's reaction and there was nowhere for the very embarrassed Venny to hide. Luckily, he reckons he can look back and laugh at it now.
Thanks Rod 'Red V' Venn for sharing your journey in Gympie cricket and let us hope we can get back to playing some over 50's cricket soon.
Brisbane Valley Statistics
Just for the record Rod did not supply these statistics, I sourced them to demonstrate what a great contributor he has been throughout his career. These are his Brisbane Valley Statistics.
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