Cameron Eve - control what you can control

Northern District Cricket Club Sydney | June 25, 2023

Cameron Eve made his first grade cricket debut for Northern District Cricket Club in 1997 as a young 20 year old fast bowler.

In a 14 year career with time also spent at Mosman Cricket Club Cameron took 443 first grade wickets at a very impressive average of 19.41. He took 5 wickets or more in an innings on 17 occasions.

A highly skilled bowler with the Kookaburra in hand he was also very handy with the bat and scored two first grade centuries.

Let’s find out more about Cameron’s journey in the game

What year you were born and where?

1977 in Canberra

Can you remember you first game of cricket?

I can but I’d rather forget it. It was when I was 10 at Brooklyn Oval playing for West Pennant Hills against Berowra. I opened the batting and after blocking the first ball of the day right out of the middle I thought that cricket was an easy game. The very next ball though cartwheeled my middle stump and I was trudging back to the sheds in tears. Did no better with the ball and to make matters worse, Matthew Daykin was playing for Berowra and carted our team to all parts until he got himself out hit wicket. Hated him at the time but turned out to become one of my great mates.

Tell us briefly about your cricketing journey?

Continued on with West Pennant Hills until Under 16’s when I moved clubs to Berowra to play with some of my representative teammates, Matthew Daykin and Christian Webb.

I played a little bit of seniors there too until I turned 18 and Northern District suggested I should come over to try out for grade.

I spent the bulk I’ve my career there and never expected to move on but after 11 seasons I felt for my own personal development I needed a change in scenery so I headed over to Mosman for 4 more.

After hanging up the boots in Grade cricket, I was coaxed out of retirement by the lads at Lane Cove for another 3 seasons playing Shires cricket. I’d always been the typical grade player who looked down on Shires cricket but can honestly say that those 3 seasons were as enjoyable as any I had. The culture the lads had established at the Covies was second to none and I made many more life long friends out of my time there.

Also did stints in the UK for The Mote, Wembley and Winchmore Hill cricket clubs.

In which grade and at what age did you make your debut in grade cricket?

Made my debut in 3rd Grade against Bankstown. We were unfortunately a dropped catch away from winning a close one at Jensen Oval. After the game we all headed over to Bankstown to watch first grade as both teams were at full strength that day. When we got there, Steve Waugh was in the process of making 182 and Kevin Roberts was at the other end and made 134. They’d passed ND’s total ages ago but were simply putting on a show for the huge crowd that’d turned out to see Australian and NSW players galore. Pretty much at that point I’d conceded to myself that third grade might just be the pinnacle for me let alone stepping onto Bankstown Oval one day itself.

At what age did you make your first grade debut in grade cricket and can you remember how you performed in debut?

I made my debut in a one day game at Old Kings against Parramatta at the age of 20. From memory I managed a very underwhelming 4 with the bat out of a dismal total of about 110. Mark Lowe threw me the ball and told me I was bowling the first over which even though I was shitting myself at the time, gave me plenty of confidence.

In my 3 or 4 overs I managed to get the wicket of James Aitken and only just avoided a rampaging Tim McMahon at the other end.

Parramatta had to chase our total down in less than 10 or so overs to make the one day finals so Tim was on a mission. He ended up on about 60 off 30 balls from memory and as we were being completely demoralised, Dayks thought that beaming him would be the best way to go down swinging. It’s fair to say that it didn’t work as I had to pick that particular ball out of Parramatta River.

‘Ed’ (Tim McMahon) ended up joining ND’s a few years later and the two became great mates. We’ve relived this game so many times over many beers so I hopefully what I now remember of it is actually still true.

Northern District First Grade team that included first class players Bard Haddin, Mark Higgs, Andrew Sainsbury, Dom Thornley and Aaron O'Brien

What was your highest score in senior cricket?

Have two first grade centuries both for ND’s – 137 vs Penrith and 118 vs Fairfield, the latter being the better innings by far though. I was batting nine and quickly we lost two wickets to bring our number 11 Rob Eddy to the crease. Somehow Rob and I proceeded to real off 165 for the last wicket partnership (an SCA record at the time) against probably one of the strongest grade attacks of all time – Don Nash, Doug Bollinger, Grant Lambert, Anthony Clark, Jason Krejza and Paul Havell all with International or 1st Class experience over their time. Rob also managed his highest ever score of 50 that day and just to rub salt into the Fairfield boy’s wounds, he got cleaned bowled first ball the next day in a one-day game against Easts.

What were your best bowling figures in senior cricket?

I took 8-33 vs Sutherland in first grade at Asquith Oval for ND’s. Still dirty about not getting a chance to bowl to their number 11 after he basically tried to run himself out to get on strike to Alan Richardson at the other end. Its fair to say I’d have backed myself to bag 9 for after seeing him get nowhere near his first ball and losing his off stump.

Who were the best three fast bowlers you have played against?

Stuart Clark – flat out made me look clueless and many others to be fair. Pace, bounce and seam on a dime. I batted for a quite awhile against him one day and was doing his head in, the main reason because I couldn’t get near enough to any of them to knick out.

Don Nash – I played with Nashy when he first came to Sydney from Dubbo and hadn’t seen anyone bowl as quick to that point. We played Poidevin Gray together and he was hitting blokes in the head pretty much every game. One wicket he got that year was by knocking a batsmen’s helmet clean off his head and onto the stumps.

We played Parramatta in one game and I’m not sure whether it was intentional or not but this young lower grader came out to bat without a lid. I was personally scared for this bloke’s safety as was his teammate at the other end.

With Nashy only having one over left his teammate proceeded to block it out for this young bloke’s safety. Our skipper decided to put everyone in the field halfway to the fence to entice a single but he wasn’t having a bar of it. Poor bloke did the noble thing for his teammate but then snicked out to a slower ball off Nashy’s last ball.

Daniel McLauchlan – Another bloke who I felt could hit you in the head or get you out any ball. Had such an effortless action and could bowl all day without his pace dropping at any point. Fair to say he was a little bit nuts too which always added some additional doubt as to where the next delivery would be heading.

Who were the best three spinners you have played against? 

Greg Matthews – I’ve read a lot of others mention Mo and with good reason. Apart from his natural talent he was always trying to get inside the opposition’s head. Last ball of an over one day he bowled me an arm ball which I managed to get a leading edge to, straight back to him to be caught and bowled. 2 years later I came out to face him again and he began reminding me of that dismissal before I’d even taken strike. Then next over I was on strike to him and he told me at the top of his mark he was going to do the same as 2 years previous. He bowled the same 5 balls, set the same field and even had the same blokes in the same positions as before. All of this leading up to the same arm ball which he continued to tell me was coming. Luckily for me it was second time lucky but it was impressive all the same.

Stuart MacGill – Along with Mo, he was the other great spinner I got to play against. Ripping bounce, turn and a fast bowlers disposition. I had the privilege of batting against him and Mo at the same time one day at Sydney Uni which to be honest was a complete circus! Never experienced anything like that day again and it was a lot of fun to be in the thick of.

Rob Aitken – Played against Robbie many times over the years. To this day I have no idea what he actually bowls or flicks or whatever the hell they are!! Was terrified to face him in fear of playing one the wrong way.

Rob Aitken

Who were the best 3 batsman you’ve played against?

Being lucky enough to play in the golden era of Sydney Grade cricket and bowl to many superstars of the game. Steve Smith, Michael Bevan, Kevin Pieterson, Michael Clarke, David Warner, Andrew Strauss and Phillip Hughes just to name a few. There are so many I could mention but here are a few that stood out to me.

Greg Mail – His record and longevity speaks for itself and bowling to Maily sometimes could be disheartening. Every ball you bowled seemed to hit the middle of the bat or be left with ease.

Simon Katich – Never bowled to anyone else that had so much time at the crease. The more effort you put in to the delivery the more it felt like it was coming out even slower.

Phil Jacques – Hit the ball as hard as anyone and had a dominating presence at the crease.

Who played the best innings you’ve seen firsthand playing with or against?

Mark Higgs’ 197 vs Gordon was all class but Matthew Daykin’s 191 not out in a one day game verses Balmain probably tops it.

Dayks had just returned mid season from the UK and had just been selected in first grade after a lazy 191 in fourth grade in his first game back.

The team was really struggling to score on a difficult wicket but he managed hang in for us to bring up his hundred in the 42nd over. Out of nowhere he then proceeded to real off the next 90 off the last 8 overs dispatching anything Balmain bowled into various Waitara backyards. He ended up with 191 out of the team’s total of 270.

In stark contrast I’d like to mention another mate of mine Damian Naughton who has the honour of easily making the worst hundred I’ve witnessed.

Matthew Daykin was still striking the ball well for Port Melbourne later in his career

Was there any batsman in particular that stirred the emotions and competitive spirit where you really wanted their wicket?

I’m sure there were many but these days my memory has the better of me unfortunately. One thing I do remember though is that I loved any wicket but the better or more regarded batsmen the better.

Who are the two players you admired most in terms of skills and competitive spirit in the competitions you played?

In my stint at Mosman I got to spend a lot of time with Sam Roberts not only playing alongside him but as a roommate as well. Sam would be the first guy to admit that he wasn’t gifted with as much natural talent as others but he always dug in for the fight and had a crack. For a spinner who never turned one and a bloke who held the bat with a golf grip his numbers are pretty remarkable.

Typically overseas players were generally regarded as soft but Alan Richardson was an exception to the rule. The flatter the wicket the more the big windmiller got out of them, much to everyone’s surprise. One of genuine nice guys to play the game and deserved every bit of his success in 1st Class cricket in the UK.

Alan Richardson

You took 443 first grade wickets at an average of 19.41, tremendous statistics, were you ever tempted to move interstate?

In all honesty I couldn’t imagine playing for anyone other than NSW but the opportunities interstate also never eventuated. Even though I personally felt I was more than capable of performing in 1st class cricket, I’m proud of what achieved particularly in such a strong era even if that just turned out to be a handful of 2nd XI games.

Who was the best captain you had the good fortune to play with?

I played under a few good ones in John Davison and Andrew Sainsbury but one that sticks out for me was Jeremy Hook. Only played with Hooky in second grade for half a season before moving up to first grade but I put a lot of that down to him. He was the first bloke to show genuine belief in my talent and gave me real confidence to back myself. Also seemed to really thrive of his teammates success.

Who has been your funniest team mate?

It’s fair to say I have played with many unique characters, some would say lunatics over the years but Tim McMahon probably gets the nod. Most of his stories aren’t fit for public consumption but he never seemed to amaze with his antics. Guy Welton comes a very close second.

Can you recall some banter or an exchange on the cricket field that still makes you laugh today?

The day I scored 137 vs Penrith I might have smashed one to the keeper on 37. The Penrith lads were filthy at the time, in particular Dale Turner. At the end of each over for the rest of my innings he proceeded to update the umpire with a running tally on how many runs he’d cost them. The rest of the Penrith lads eventually found it hilarious but I saw Dale not too long ago and he was still dirty.

What was your most embarrassing dismissal in senior cricket?

Apart from getting bowled by Ben Davis, walking out to bat against Stuart MacGill in my second first grade game I faced the prospect of him staring down a five wicket haul and being picked for Australia later that evening.

After playing and missing two wrong uns and a leg spinner I was politely reminded by the 4 or so huge units in Phil Marks, Scott Hookey and others that were surrounding the bat, that perhaps I wasn’t good enough to be out there.

The next ball MacGill bowled a rank half volley on leg stump only for me to get my bat stuck in the ground and the ball gently pop up for any of the close in fielders to take the easiest catch of all time. I’m pretty sure I was already halfway off the ground when it was caught.

Who was your childhood hero?

From a cricket aspect it was Dean Jones and then Terry Alderman solely on the back of the Ashes tours of the UK. Questioning of late why I still am, but I’ve been an Essendon fan all my life so Paul Salmon and Tim Watson were favourites as a kid and lastly Magic Johnson helped start my passion for basketball.

Who are the three famous people in the world you’d most like to have a beer with?

Dirk Nowitzki, Ricky Gervais and Win Butler

Win Butler

What was your favourite ground to play at?

I always loved playing at Waitara (Mark Taylor Oval) but Bankstown and North Sydney were always a pleasure

What there a particular team you especially looked forward to playing against?

For some reason I seemed to have the wood over Bankstown no matter how stacked their side was and I think their talent and competitiveness always brought out the best in me. They have always had great facilities and people around their club and always made us feel welcome and it was a privilege to play there.

What do you enjoy most about playing cricket?

I think most would agree with me that winning beers in the sheds was hard to beat.

What’s been your most memorable moment in cricket?

Knocking over Michael Bevan for 2 and taking a first grade hat-trick were great but it might just have to be when Brett Richardson walked out to bat for Lane Cove when his dog decided to follow him out to the middle. ‘Ninja’ then proceeded to relieve himself on the stumps. Richo had a nasty knack for copping huge fines regularly but his outlay this particular day was unprecedented.

What’s the best win you’ve been involved with?

Winning the one-day final with Mosman is an obvious highlight but for something different a Poidevin Gray game against North Sydney at North Sydney No.2 springs to mind.

It was the last game of the season and as we were out of finals contention we decided there would be a 1.00am compulsory team meeting at Star City the night before. True to everyone’s word all 11 team members were present and accounted for.

When we arrived to the game in the morning it was decided that we would reverse both the batting and bowling orders. Turns out we maybe should’ve done this earlier in the season as we racked up 9/390 with the bat with North Sydney only managing 65 in reply against our feeble attack.

It turned out the North Sydney skipper had a similar preparation for the game and walked to the ground straight from a night out in the cross. I’ll never forget him arriving at the ground sans underpants which he had decided to toss off the Harbour Bridge for some reason along the way.

Mosman One Day premier in 2008/09

What are your hobbies?

I still actively playing basketball 3 nights a week and I try to get in as many games of golf as I can.

What’s the best advice you’ve received?

Control what you can control

What is your occupation?

Key Account Manager

Are you still involved in cricket and if so, in what capacity?

I’m still involved through work obviously and working with key partners such as Cricket NSW, Kingsgrove Sports and Greg Chappell Cricket Centre.