The genesis for ‘the gathering of mates’ occurred many years ago…
I used to go the Shield cricket quite a bit when I was but a callow youth in the 1960s and early 1970s. Back then it was a very competitive competition as all the Test players also played Shield cricket, unless they were overseas for a Test series.My earliest vivid memory is of the 1969/70 Shield match between Victoria and NSW at the MCG from December 26-29. Yep, that’s right, back then there were Test series in Australia only in alternate years, swapping with the traditional Victoria v NSW match.
Stumps were drawn on Day 3 with the Vics 8/107, still needing 74 to win outright. Not out batsmen were Graeme Watson on 27 and Robert Rowan on 0. (By the way, he was one of two members in the Victorian side who also excelled at baseball – both he and John Swanson played for Australia in baseball while also playing first-class cricket).
I decided to return the next day to witness the denouement. Amazingly, Watson and Rowan took the score to 178 before Watson was dismissed. This brought Alan ‘Froggie’ Thompson to the crease, one of the worst-ever number elevens to bat for Victoria. He managed to hold up his end while Rowan scored the winning runs, remaining 28 not out – at that point his highest first-class score. Most of the reported 2000 crowd went onto the ground to congratulate Rowan on his fine innings, I remember patting him on his very sweaty back!
I fondly remember this and other Shield experiences.
Moving into the `70s and I attained membership of the MCC. As a celebration I invited a couple of my fellow Department of Repatriation Cricket Club mates to lunch in the old dining room on VFL Grand Final Eve. I recall two things from that day. The barman refused to let a non-member buy a drink, and we ventured on to the MCG – no security back then – and fantasised about kicking the winning goal the next day.
In 2008, I was reminiscing with a couple of mates about the Shield cricket and dining at the `G. The conversation unfolded over a few drinks and concluded with a promise from me to combine the two and organise a lunch during a Shield match in the 2008/09 season. And so a tradition was born.
And on January 30, 2009 a group of 12 mates gathered at the `G to watch the first day of Victoria v SA. Bloody hell, it was hot, reaching the mid-40s after lunch. It was so hot that only one brave member of our party actually ventured out from behind the Long Room glass to watch in the open. Apart from Long Room attendees, we counted about 20 people in the rest of the ground. The cricket was enervating, the beer cold and the yarns flowing. Out in the middle, Nick Jewell ground his way to a ton and the Vics won by 25 runs on the final day.
The numbers have varied over ensuing years, from a low of just six in 2012 to a high of 16 in 2015. One of the mates, Humpo, who has regularly attended, was with me at that GF lunch way back in the `70s. Another, MarkO, has flown down from Brisbane a couple of times to fulfill a lifetime dream of going to the cricket at the `G. It’s an eclectic mix, with old workmates, more recent work mates, brothers, hockey mates, cricket mates and footy-watching mates. Despite coming from widely varying backgrounds who only get together on the one day of the year, we all have a love of cricket, and the conversation is lively and fun is had by all.
Though 2014 was a very sad year, our annual visit was scheduled for just after Phil Hughes tragically died and the round of Shield matches was cancelled. So, there was no gathering that year.
With the projected move of some Shield matches to the Junction Oval, this season may well signal the end of a gathering of mates at the `G.
Thanks to all the mates who’ve made these days so memorable. Hope I haven’t missed any names…Burkie, Pete L, MarkO, Tony, Phil, John, Gnome, Pat, Humpo, Sean, Winton, Maurie, Wayne, Brett and Peter T.
View the full scorecard of Victoria v NSW at the MCG, Dec 26-29.