From the moment he joined, Lyall Gardner threw himself wholeheartedly into whatever was going on in the club. He was an experienced club cricketer, who simply “lived the game”. Playing was a tonic to Lyall and his performances quickly justified his selection straight into 1st Grade, where he was a reliable and persistent into the wind, new ball bowler. His classic wicket ball was a slight inswinger that seamed further back at the batsman’s stumps after it hit the pitch. When the ball was new, you definitely had to get straight onto the front foot to him or start digging it out of your middle and leg stump!
As a player he played matches in all grades 1st to 5th, taking five wickets in an innings in each grade. There would not be many players who could boast that statistic. In fact, he took 10 wickets in a match three times and ten times he took five wickets in an innings. Best figures 8-12: 3rd Grade v Waverley 1977-78 and he won the 2nd Grade batting average with 22.83 in 1975-76 batting no. 10. Took 5-14: 2nd Grade at Rushcutters Bay on 11 October 1975 (Saturday) and celebrated by marrying Ros next day 12 October 1975 (Sunday) with the team in attendance!
