The Keepers - part one
Ian Elks | June 05, 2023
Multi part interview with three of the finest Queensland and University of Queensland Wicket Keepers Lew Cooper, Wade Seccombe and Chris Hartley
On 11th April 2019 Queensland Cricket lost one of its finest in Lew Cooper.
Lew Cooper was a wicket keeper who played 34 first class games for Queensland between 1959 and 1968. Lou was 81 when he passed.
Lew was a life member of the University of Queensland Cricket Club (UQCC) playing A Grade from 1955 to 1977. He is also remembered fondly through his roles with the Qld Cricketer's Club, Wanderer's and the Lord Taverner's cricket associations.
A few years back, it was evident that Lew's health was deteriorating and I was keen to pull together some of his memories to share in our UQCC Old Boys newsletter.
Given UQCC has produced two other fine Queensland wicketkeepers in Wade Seccombe and Chris Hartley, why not get the three of them together for a chat. On my front deck over a few beers we spoke about their formative years, their cricketing heroes and influences, memories of great characters such as Wep Harris and Jeff Thomson, and what playing cricket for UQCC, Queensland and Australia meant to them.
It turned out to be quite a session - so I’ve broken our chat into five parts, here is Part One.
The Keepers – Part One
Where were you born/raised, and your earliest cricketing experience?
Lew – I was born in Mackay in 1937, and attended primary schools at Finch Hatton and Marian State Schools, which are located West of Mackay. During the Second World War, my father was a POW in Singapore, and my mother ran our post office. My mother’s family owned cane farms at Marian. I also lived in Toowoomba, before boarding at The Southport School for my secondary education (1949–1955).
Ian – TSS, good pedigree.
Wade – I was going to say good pedigree Toowoomba. How long did you live in Toowoomba?
Lew – 1948 to around 53. We owned the Billiard Saloon, in Margaret Street, located opposite Tattersall’s Hotel.
Wade – Now we’re learning a little more about your education.
Ian – Were you a good snooker player?
Lew – Well, I won the Cricketers’ Club championship a few times. We had five billiard tables there in those days, and I was the club champ for a few years. I beat Eddie Charlton, then World Champion, once. We only played two frames, I won the first and he won the second. He died shortly after that so we never got to play the decider! I remember making a break of around 50 in the first game, but he made a break of over 100 in the second. It was pretty embarrassing, as it was an exhibition game and everyone had come to see him play, and I won the first frame! The people in the audience were crying ‘Foul!’ So the second game, I smashed them up and he cleared the table.
I went off to TSS and played rugby, initially at half back and then at five eighth. Five eighth was a very difficult position in those days, as we weren’t very strong, and most times I had two of the opposition breakaways tackling me before I got the ball! I didn’t play cricket until the age of 14 or 15, having mainly played rugby up to that age. The TSS cricket master, Ron Pearson, invited me down to Firsts training after watching me play in an interclass match at the school.
Anyway, I played in the Firsts for a few years and then they picked a GPS team at the end of the cricket season. Ray Reynolds was the keeper in the first GPS team. Ray played for Queensland as a batsman while he was still at school. He didn’t play any club cricket before being selected for Queensland. During that final year (1955), Ray scored 100s in every GPS cricket game for Churchie, and went straight into the Shield team as a result of that. I was selected in the second GPS team, which played Uni at Uni.
Wade – Born in Murgon in 1971 and moved straight to Toowoomba, where I went to Harristown Primary School and Toowoomba Grammar School thereafter. Started playing in Grade 10 in 1986, and we won the GPS premiership for the first time in 50 years. We won it for the next two years on the trot after that, in 87 and 88. Played cricket with Jason Little, Leon Love (Marty’s older brother) and ex-Uni player Tom Garde at TGS during this time.
Chris – Born in Nambour in 1982, then the family moved to Brisbane. I went to Kenmore Primary School and Brisbane Boys College from 1995 through to 99. Our coach at the time was Darryl Case who played a bit of cricket with Wests. I had three years in the Firsts from Grades 10 through 12.
Ian – I would have thought David Biggs or David Ogilvie would have had some involvement with your cricket at BBC?
Chris – I didn’t have any involvement with David B until the Lord’s Taverners at Uni, and although I knew David O had played cricket for Qld and Australia, he didn’t have any association with cricket at the school, at least while I was there.
Ian – He was a fine player for Queensland and Australia. I remember him hitting something like four or five consecutive 100s for Qld.
Lew – David made 100 in every Shield game (eight) during one season, but wasn’t picked for Australia until a little further down the track. He was belatedly selected to tour the West Indies with the Australian team as a replacement for an injured player. He was a different sort of lad — an outstanding fieldsman and, as a batsman, a real eye player. He was one of the first that I ever saw, when the bowler dropped it short, he would club it straight back over the bowler’s head — all the umpires knew to hit the deck. He was very unorthodox — he was like a baseballer playing cricket — but an outstanding cricketer.
Ian – Very good, two country boys and we’ll claim you as well Chris, given you were born in Nambour.
Why Uni?
Lew – I was picked in the second GPS side and we played Uni. When I was playing in this game, a couple of Uni Cricket officials approached me to see whether I would play with them when I left school. They must have had a bit of a recruiting drive going on because Tom Veivers, Ian Callaghan (the High Court Judge) and Bobby Mihell had also just arrived to play for Uni. Dick Grice came the year before. Originally, I was selected to play B Grade, but when I turned up, at the match, they said, ‘You are wanted up on No 1 as the keeper in Reserve Grade, Ronny Edwards, is sick.’ So I kept in Reserve Grade that game, and managed to hold that place for a few games.
Then they picked me in A grade, and I took Brian O’Callaghan’s place, which was a little bit controversial because he had been there for about 15 years as keeper. He was also an Australian Rugby Union referee and a bank manager with the ANZ bank, so he had a bit of pull. I didn’t realise that all of this drama was going on behind me. So we played Easts in my first match, and I had just turned 18. Kev Duffy was the off spinner. Magnificent off spinner, and took a lot of wickets for Uni. Big fella, around about 18 stone. Anyway, he bowled one to Peter Burge, and he went down the wicket and I stumped him. So Duffy came down the wicket and lifted me up and said, ‘You’ll do me son — I haven’t had a stumping for five years!’ So I was anointed by Duffy and was there for another 25 years!
Wade – School coach Graham Smythe, who knew WEP, said, ‘I think you have to go and play for Uni, it’s the club to play at.’ I lobbed down to training one week and pretty quickly worked out who WEP was.
Chris – I was recommended to play in the Under 16 Lord’s Taverners competition by a peer of mine and his father — I had no idea what they were talking about, but I turned up to training and that was where I first met David Biggs our coach.
Wade – On the recruitment drive, I think it was Scotty Muller who was responsible for getting Kasper to the club. Scotty was playing at Uni a year or two before I started, and Kasper was just finishing school. He asked Scotty where he should play and Scotty said, ‘You have to come to Uni, they don’t lock the fridge so it’s free drinks after training.’
Then when they did put a padlock on it, you could still open the fridge far enough to get a can when you used the tongs from the kitchen! I’m sure every year WEP used to top it up for the ‘shortfall’.
Lew – That’s unbelievable.
What was the strongest friendship you made playing for Uni and what does playing at Uni mean for you?
Chris – The BBC cohort who went on to play for Uni — I have very strong friendships with Craig Philipson, Jarrod Turner and Tim Wheller. That’s the thing about Uni, you get lots of different people from different geographical locations and backgrounds, and the camaraderie that this brings is not matched by any other club. It is one of the strengths of the club.
Because you play for the state side, you’re always coming and going from the club, but I’ve always loved going back there because you just slot in so easily. It doesn’t matter who is back there running on the field with you — it’s unique.
Wade – Kasper (Michael Kasprowicz) who played a lot at Uni and for Qld. The other is probably Flegs (Shaun Flegler) — good mates in junior cricket and we’ve remained tight ever since.
Ian – Lew, over all those years, who are some of the strong friendships you’ve maintained?
Lew – Probably Trevor Stewart — Trevor’s lost his legs now, he’s got diabetes. Tommy Veivers and Bob Crane … but there are so many people who I get along extremely well with, and who have been very good to me over the years. I’m just so bloody pleased that I played for Uni. It’s just such a decent club, with the sort of people that you meet. We never had any altercations; there was no shit that went on. You could see it at other clubs, it never happened at our club. It was just all good fun and very enjoyable and it was just a privilege — I was very lucky to play for them.
Wade – My first game we had to go out to Chinchilla to play, and Rod Rice (state selector) took me aside and said, ‘We’ve got our eye on you and you’re going alright, but don’t get caught up in the Uni way.’ I said, ‘What’s the Uni way?’ He said, ‘They all have a really good time, but they don’t take their cricket that seriously.’ That was the perception out there. I went ok — but I still think I played it the Uni way. The beauty of it is, that’s the reason you play the game and come to a club like Uni — to enjoy it.
Lew – I wouldn’t have it any other way. I couldn’t get over it when Sammy Trimble left Wests and went and played for Souths. Souths!? That just shocked me. It wouldn’t have even entered my mind to go away from Uni. I just felt that privileged to be there and play there. It was just part of my life.
