Clinton Witt - concern yourself with what you can control
Northern District Cricket Club Sydney | March 27, 2023
Clinton Witt joined Northern District Cricket Club at the age of 13 in 1992 and on the 17 July 2014 he was proudly awarded Life Membership of the club.
Throughout the grades Clinton scored 10,100 runs and at the time of publication is the 4th highest run scorer in the clubs history.
Let’s find out more about Clinton’s journey and insights into the game
What year you were born?
1978.
Can you remember you first game of cricket?
Yes, I was 8 years old playing for Hornsby RSL U/10s against St Ives at Toolang Oval, St Ives. I scored 2 not out, bowled someone with my first ball, took a catch and we won! Needless to say, it was all downhill from there unfortunately.
Tell us briefly about your cricketing journey?
I played my junior cricket in the Hornsby Kuring-gai and Hills competition for Hornsby RSL (now defunct) and then Normanhurst. I also had a season of “D grade” senior cricket for Berowra playing alongside future first graders in Matthew Daykin and Adam Elbourne under the captaincy of local cricket icon - The late Tom Richmond. I played my junior representative cricket with the HK & HDCA from Under 10s-15s and then joined the Northern District Cricket Club for Green Shield when I was 13. I then spent the next 22 seasons playing for the NDCC in some capacity.
I was fortunate enough to play junior representative cricket for the NSW Under 17s, CHS and Schoolboys teams before the wheels fell off. I also had a season in the UK in 2000 with the Northern Club playing in the Liverpool District competition along with the various Lancashire-based knock-out competitions which was a fantastic experience, but one that I didn’t fully appreciate at the time.
NSW Under 17s 1995-96
Back Row – Grant Lee, Damien Alderton, Clinton Witt, Tim Johnson, Phil Jaques, Kym Beazleigh, Michael Bower, Sean McKiernan
Front Row – Allen Turrell (Coach), Brett Chippendale, Stephen Coombes, Daniel Godkin (Captain), Darren Wotherspoon, Luke Piper, Rocky Harris (Manager)
In which grade and at what age did you make your debut in grade cricket?
I debuted in a 5th grade match against Randwick at Kensington Oval in 1994 when I was 15. We suffered a heavy defeat, but I got to play with Matthew “Captain Wickets” Bruce for the first time ever, so swings and roundabouts!
At what age did you make your first grade debut in grade cricket and can you remember how you performed in debut?
I was 20, we played North Sydney in 1998/99 in a top-of-the-table clash at North Sydney Oval in a Saturday-Sunday two-day match straight after Christmas. The Northern Spirit played an NSL match there on the Friday night which meant the pitch was a little dicey with a few stud marks thrown-in for good measure. Anyway, we won outright over two innings – We had a pretty talented team at the time, but the result was still somewhat of a surprise considering Norths were 16 points ahead of us leading into that game. Personally, I scored 11 & 14, but I managed to hit a dinger and take my first ever slips catch in any form of cricket. Why Andrew Sainsbury had me fielding in the grippers that day (or any day for that matter) is one of life’s great mysteries.
If you can share with our audience, how would you describe yourself as a cricketer?
A left-handed batsman who regularly made starts and infrequently capitalised upon them. Not much of a bowler throughout the years, but I once dismissed future ICC Hall of Famer Lisa Sthalekar in junior cricket with a handy little outswinger, so I’ve got that going for me I suppose…
Back Row – Mark McGinnity (Manager), Tim Cox, Mark Grace, Ryan Cross, Clinton Witt, Philip Jaques, Mr Michael Falk (Coach)
Front Row – Bryce Young, David Falk, Brett Newman, Vaughan Williams (Captain), Brad Terry, James Royal, Sean McKiernan
What were your strengths as a player?
I never really cemented a niche batting spot in amongst all the batting talent we had at NDs, so I had to fit in where I could depending on who was available with rep duties etc. I enjoyed the challenge of being fairly versatile in that regard and adapting to different batting positions and game situations.
What was your highest score in senior cricket?
172 not out for NDs against Bankstown in 2nd grade at Jensen Park in 2011/12.
What were your best bowling figures in senior cricket?
I burgled 3/32 with the new rock for the Northern Club at Wigan including the scalp of future Test centurion Hamish Marshall. My opinion of NZ cricket was never quite the same after that moment.
Who were the best three fast bowlers you have played against?
Stuart Clark – He was awkward to face, he’d extract ridiculous bounce off a length, every ball hit the seam, his bouncer was 2 yards quicker than everything else and he got me out for fun the few times I played against him.
Doug Bollinger – Bowled the best (and quickest) spell that I’d ever faced in a qualifying-final at Hurstville in 2005. He was simply a class above that day and as an added bonus I collected a souvenir dent in my helmet from that match for good measure.
Pat Cummins – After a John Farnham-esque retirement, I played a handful of games in 1st grade in 2010/11 including one against Penrith where I had to face this then unknown 17 year-old man-child late on day one. He was swinging it both ways and bowling at a clip rarely seen at Waitara – I felt utterly helpless as I was properly worked over before feebly nicking one behind early-on the following week. I didn’t feel so bad about it a couple of months later when he was playing for NSW in the KFC Big Bash and terrorising First Class cricketers with his rockets.
Stuart Clark
Who were the best three spinners you have played against?
Greg Matthews – I made the mistake of trying to belt him out of the attack a couple of times in my younger days and I failed miserably (and embarrassingly) by getting stumped on those occasions. He had uncanny control and drop combined with a superior cricket brain and was someone who always offered great entertainment value on the field too.
Stuart MacGill – Only faced him in a game once, but the first ball he bowled to me was a wrong ‘un that I simply didn’t pick – It was clearly wasted on me! It spun about a foot past my bat as I was looked to flick if off my hip through the leg side.
Anthony Clark – Someone who I highly respected as a cricketer and as a person - A great competitor who I really enjoyed playing against. He usually set me some unorthodox fields and had great drift with the ball – Trying to hit him over the straight boundary at Rosedale was an exercise in futility.
Greg Matthews
Who were the best 3 batsman you’ve played against?
Phil Jaques – Achieved all his success the old-fashioned way through sheer hard work, determination and a truckload of runs at every level he played. He never shied away from a challenge and I have the utmost respect for the fact that he took every opportunity to play grade cricket whenever he possibly could.
Simon Katich – Only played against him once, but I’ve never seen anyone else have so much time at the crease – He made batting look effortless. How he spooned a low full-toss off Benny Davis’ part-time offies down the throat of Long On that afternoon stiff baffles me to this day.
Kevin Pietersen – We played against him during his lone season at Sydney Uni in 2002/03. I had the “privilege” of fielding at Silly Mid-off whilst he was batting against the leg spin of Stephen Coombes – “Fumes’ was a terrific bowler, but I have to admit that I’ve never been as terrified in my entire life as those couple of overs that I was fielding in there. You could tell he was a class above us mere mortals.
Phil Jaques
Who played the best innings you’ve seen firsthand playing with or against?
With – Matt Daykin’s 141 against Fairfield at Hurstville in the qualifying-final in 2005 was incredible to watch against a rampant Doug Bollinger. It helped us cement a first innings victory on day one.
Against – Neil Maxwell scored a ton against us at Waitara in a qualifying-final in 2003 after he’d taken a 5fa with the ball the day before. He came in at 4/29 chasing 356 as he and Greg Hayne put on about 200 to put a genuine fright in all us before we were able to breakthrough and ultimately win the game – Just a gutsy and determined innings in a high stakes contest.
Was there any bowler or batsman in particular who for whatever reason always seemed to cause you a few problems?
There were plenty, but a special shout out to Brett Newman (Penrith) who knocked me over 8 times from Under 11 reps all the way through to 1st grade - Great competitor, beloved teammate and it was a shame that injuries curtailed his cricketing days prematurely.
Can you recall a time when you thought, wow, this is a step or two up from what you were used to in grade cricket?
In my fifth game in 1st grade in 1998/99, we played Mosman at Waitara on a cloudy Saturday morning. We lost the toss, were sent in and Brett Lee and Warwick Adlam made quick work of our top order. We were 5-15 and staring down the barrel of an absolute pasting before Brad Haddin (who was on nought at the time) launched this ridiculous counter-attack. He was hooking sixes off Brett Lee (who was bowling absolute wheels at the time) and playing all kinds of shots that defied the situation that were we in. Anyway, Hadds was dismissed for 81 and we were 6-101 (Yep, he’d scored 81 out of 86 In a 6th wicket partnership with Matt Daykin aka “The Brooklyn Blocker”). Watching that contest between those two future Test players made me quickly realise that my miniscule hopes of playing cricket at higher levels needed to be permanently re-assessed.
To cap it off, I then spent the rest of the afternoon in the field watching Marty Haywood belt us to all parts of Waitara which was another sobering reminder of the joys of grade cricket.
Who was the best wicket keeper you’ve seen firsthand playing with or against?
With - Brad Haddin. Had a natural ability behind the sticks (and with the bat too) that just couldn’t be taught. Easily the best cricketer that I had the good fortune of ever playing with.
Against – Shane Stanton. Always seemed to get runs against us, had good mitts and a maturity that belied his youth with the way he led Sydney University to their first couple of premierships in the early 2000s with a talented and somewhat unique cast of characters. Really respected the fact that he would keep and then open the batting in addition to his captaincy duties.
Brad Haddin
Who are the two players you admired most in terms of skills and competitive spirit in the competitions you played?
With – Andrew Sainsbury. A criminally under-rated cricketer who was the mainstay of our teams at NDs from the mid ‘90s through to the late 2000s. Class batsman - No-one was better at constructing an innings or scoring runs in difficult conditions against quality opposition. Scored more 1st grade hundreds than anyone in NDs history and he definitely deserved to play more than the four Shield games that he was selected for NSW.
Against - Grant Lambert and Greg Mail (Tie). Their astounding records with both bat and ball (and with the gloves too in Maily’s case) were thoroughly deserved and will likely never be rivalled. Great to see that they’re still heavily involved in the game in both coaching and administrative capacities.
Who was the best captain you had the good fortune to play with?
Vaughan Williams – A bit of a leftfield choice, but I played under Vaughan in the NSW CHS and Schoolboys teams 25 years ago and was really impressed. He had great instincts and wasn’t afraid to think outside the box and try a few things if the game was getting stale. Above all else, he was a terrific teammate in addition to being a talented and determined cricketer in his own right.
At NDs, we had plenty of great skippers throughout the years – In PG’s and 1st grade, Dom Thornely had a high cricket IQ and was usuallly two-steps ahead of everyone else on the field. The likes of Jack Moran, Dom Hodson, Ben Munro and Jerry Hook were excellent leaders and mentors whilst I was coming up through the lower grades and I really enjoyed playing under Tim McMahon for a couple of seasons in 2nd grade at the back end of my cricketing days - “Ed” brought a nice mix of sage advice, tactical nous and post-game shenanigans to the table each week and often with good results.
Dominic Thornley
Who has been your funniest teammate?
Matthew Bruce – The man is a deadest comedic genius!
Can you recall some banter or an exchange on the cricket field that still makes you laugh today?
We were playing Fairfield towards the end of the 2004/05 season at Waitara. I left a ball outside off-stump against Grant Lambert and our club coach at the time then yelled out from the sidelines, “Great leave Witty, that’s what we want!” in a bid to provide encouragement. Needless to say, it was most “Village” thing that I’d ever heard at a cricket game and I subsequently copped all sorts of grief from the slips cordon for the next few overs (and rightly so too) as they openly wondered how badly out-of-form I must have been to get a clap and a shout out from the sideline for simply leaving a ball. I had absolutely no comeback there – I just had to grin and bear it!
What was your most embarrassing dismissal in senior cricket?
We were playing Mosman in 2001/02 at Allan Border Oval, I opened the batting and I lost sight of Trent Johnston’s first ball of the morning. It hit me plumb in front and I was somehow dismissed LBW before the official start of play at 9:58 am! As I walked off the field, an elderly Mosman supporter at the boundary gate remarked, “Ah, it’s a cruel game isn’t it?” Once again, I had no comeback there either.
Who was your childhood hero?
Allan Border.
Who are the three sports people in the world you’d most like to meet?
Allan Border – So that I could ask him if he was disappointed that he won “Australian Of The Year” only once (It should have been at least 4-5 times by my count).
Charles Barkley – So that we could both get on the cans and for him to openly discuss every relevant NBA storyline from the past 40 years.
Rafa Nadal – To find out more about his unique relationship with his Uncle Toni and to discover the secrets of his prolonged on-court success despite facing numerous career-threatening injury setbacks and always seemingly being able to come back better than ever each time. It was uncanny and somewhat superhuman some might say!
Charles Barkley
Who’s your favourite cricket commentator?
The late great Tony Cosier.
What was your favourite ground to play at?
Hurstville Oval.
What there a particular team you especially looked forward to playing against?
Bankstown. Being a part of the junior pathway programs in the early ‘90s, their blue and white fingerprints were all over NSW Cricket at the time and they were more-or-less the standard bearers of grade cricket during that period. With that in mind, there was always that added motivation to perform well whenever we played against them throughout the years.
What’s been your most memorable moment in cricket?
Winning the inaugural SCA T20 1st grade premiership with NDs in 2008/09 and playing the final under lights at the SCG was pretty special – As an added bonus, the team won a trip to India later that year thanks to the fine folks at Power Education.
Back Row: Kym Daley, Brendan Ham, Robert Watts, Michael Hogan, Ahillen Beadle, Michael Ho Shon (Physiotherapist)
Middle Row: Daniel Friedrich, Ryan Nelson, David Ball, Andrew McLean
Front Row: Adnan Suleman, David Lowery, Ben Davis (Captain), Evan McCarthy, Clinton Witt, Dean Gilchrist (Coach)
What’s the best win you’ve been involved with?
It was a win against Sutherland at Waitara in 2002/03 – We batted on a slight green-top on day one. Stuart Clark was in the middle of a purple patch of form at the time and took the first six wickets of the innings. He troubled everyone except for Andrew Sainsbury who made a brilliant 141 opening the batting. We ended up with 340 odd which was a good effort against a decent attack.
Day two the following Saturday was 40+ degrees and the deck was somehow a lot flatter than the previous week. In about the 6th over, one of the Sutherland openers belted a ball into a construction site across the road and I think we were all secretly hoping that no-one could find the ball so that we could make an early exit to the Blue Gum hotel for a Saturday afternoon session. Alas, some bystander foolishly found it and we had to keep playing. Anyway, I remember our bowlers – In particular Cameron Eve, Rob Eddy and Stephen Coombes (apologies if I left anyone else out there… Aaron O’Brien?) - just kept toiling away all day, picking up wickets throughout the afternoon before it got to the point where we needed a wicket in the last over to win the match. On the penultimate ball of the day, “Fumes” Coombes lurked an LBW and we won by about 20-30 runs. It was brutal and everyone was absolutely cooked afterwards. Good times!
Who are the three players from your playing days are at the top of the list for a Saturday afternoon barbeque?
Daniel Friedrich, Ryan Nelson and Matt Johnson. Three fantastic stalwarts of the NDCC and great mates of mine for the past 20+ years!
What are your hobbies?
Not too much happening these days as I’m involved in a couple of mind-numbing and time-consuming projects for work at the moment. Prior to Covid-19, I was a pretty avid traveller so hopefully I can get back into that fairly soon. Otherwise, I’m a bit of a sports fanatic, a pub trivia attendee and an occasional Karaoke participant.
What’s the best advice you’ve received?
Only concern yourself with the things that are within your control.
What’s your occupation?
I’m the Presentation Services Manager for Telstra Broadcast Services. Our team provide a cloud-based TV broadcast solution for clients such as SBS Television, Prime7 Regional Television and TVSN.
Are you still involved in cricket and if so, in what capacity?
No, but I’m currently on the NDCC Alumni Committee. We’re essentially looking to re-connect with past players in the lead-up to the club’s centenary season in 2025.
If you were running a state cricket association what would your 2 priorities to ensure cricket in the state remained strong and successful on and off the field?
1.Without trying to sound like a socialist, figure out a way to de-centralise Sydney Premier Cricket to restore some semblance of a competitive balance across the competition. It’s always disappointing to see the migration of talented young cricketers away from their junior bases in suburban Sydney only to strengthen clubs that can offer University scholarships or are conveniently located within close proximity to the Pacific Ocean or Cricket NSW HQ.
It’s a tricky one, as you can’t really blame the players for taking advantage of those tertiary education opportunities and/or for hanging out at the Manly Corso instead of the Hornsby Fountain after matches, but it must be demoralising being a coach or a volunteer at those suburban clubs seeing players that they’ve spent considerable time developing go elsewhere through no fault of their own and having success at rival clubs. Either way, there needs to some more incentives or a system in place so that these clubs can hang onto their players past their teens/early 20s and subsequently provide a better-balanced competition with more clubs having cycles of success rather than just a select few clubs.
2. Get rid of the much-maligned Futures League and bring back Colts and State Second XI cricket to create a more balanced structure for selections into First Class/List A cricket.
For my mind, there’s no real issue with identifying talented young players and fast-tracking their development through additional training programs and overseas academy tours etc. However, when those players are being fast-tracked from national under-age tournaments into the senior national competitions without sustained performances in Premier Cricket, they’re essentially being set-up for failure in my opinion. They’re not getting the proper exposure of having to perform week-in-week-out against experienced players in Premier Cricket under the pressures of trying to win games for competition points. They can then also develop the problem-solving skills and the resiliency that they’ll ultimately need to succeed at the next level in the relatively anonymous setting of Premier Cricket - If they’re good enough, then they’ll ultimately be successful anyway. The last time I checked, Test Cricket didn’t have age limits – It seems silly that the major development competition in Australia is treated like a glorified under-age cricket carnival.
