OUT! Caught McCallum Bowled McCallum
Lindfield District Cricket Club | September 20, 2023
10 runs to get, 6 balls to do it. I’m on strike as the rain whips into my face, through the metal grill of my helmet making it slightly difficult to see the ball. Its dark, wet, and 13 players and 2 umpires tough it out for one more over. But for me, I’ve had one of the greatest moments on the cricket field already. I opened the batting with my old man. We walked out together with the task set in front of us, ready to take on the world. While we enjoyed a solid 50-run partnership, I also had the extra privilege of seeing him get out before me. The result of the game didn’t matter to me because I was the happiest a cricketer ever could be. No century or five wicket haul could ever compete with the feeling of playing cricket with the person who introduced you to the game twenty odd years ago.
As a young cricketer, I grew up under the coaching of my dad who threw the ball to me while I tried to play my best Ricky Ponting hook shot, or my sharpest Michael Clarke cover drive. And this would go for hours. And hours. And hours. Dad has told me many stories about the length of time, but my favourite was on holidays in Far North Queensland where him and his mate sat on an esky at the beach and threw the ball to me. I would hit it as far as I could and then go and chase it, bring it back to him, and restart the process. Almost like a dog fetching the ball. But I loved it. And dad loved it. It was the long and fun days like that you remember as a kid. Dad went through a case of Crown Lager on the beach that day while myself, a 5-year-old cricket enthusiast, grew my love of the game… and practiced the hoik to cow too many times.
I am now 21 years old and playing first grade cricket with dad by my side supporting myself and the team. I always encourage my mates to play cricket with their father figures and I know dad tells his mates to play at least one game with their sons or daughters. It is one of the greatest moments of my life, and I know my dad loved it too. While his cricketing career was on the decline (unfortunately the age was getting to him!) and mine was on incline, we managed a few games together. It was the perfect match. The energy and enthusiasm of a young cricketer with the expertise and wisdom of an older head won us many games. An example is one game we played together at Lindfield Oval. We had put a modest 174 runs on the board and the opposition were 4-150 with 20 overs left. So, we started the “5 o’clock fiasco”. We walked around telling everyone how hard it was to bat here after 5pm. There was no truth in it, but boy did it work. Next thing, the opposition were 8-168. I came in to bowl, and the 10th batter hit it to mid-off, my father. OUT! Caught McCallum, Bowled McCallum. One for the scoresheets and the records. We took the final wicket the next over and won by 4 runs! I could not promote the game of cricket enough to both young and old cricketers. You will not regret it.
Experiencing the change from myself whacking the ball on the beach with a broken plastic bat to where I am now with my cricketing ability, I see my dad by my side. He coached my junior teams growing up and was heavily involved in the growth of my skills. We went to the nets every week, and still do, and talk cricket non-stop. It’s almost like an unbreakable bond between us and has helped us remain best mates for so long.
We’ve played five games together of senior cricket with varied results. But they don’t matter. Not when you get to walk over that boundary rope towards the middle with the man that taught you the ‘viper grip’ when bowling, or how to transform the hoik to cow corner into a ‘lofted on drive’. So, the message is, play cricket. Don’t give up on it. Play until you are old enough so your son or daughter can play a game with you. It will change your life and create that strong friendship between you both that you will cherish forever.
