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| 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.
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