Mark Van Epen – my best captain

The best captain I played under was Keith Stimson at Balmain.

He was captain of the 3rd grade team at around 50 years of age. He played many years of first grade as a successful left hand bat and captained the 1st grade team for a number of seasons leading them to the 1st grade premiership in 1967/68. His oozed experience on the field and in the dressing shed.

He was always calm and read the game well, knowing when to attack, when to defend and when to try something different. He had the respect of the players through example and knew how to get the best out of his players.

Keith’s two best leadership qualities were reading the situation of the game and man management.

One specific example of his leadership was in a game against Uni of NSW in which we had 6 overs to get 55 runs to win outright. I wasn’t confident we could do it, but Keith was always positive and looking for a way to win.

I was an opening batsman and Keith batted 6. Keith said, “Mark you and I are opening, and we are going to get these runs”. After 5 and half overs we got the runs at 0-56, I was 5 not out and Keith was 51 not out.

Keith was a life member of the Balmain District Cricket Club and the new Sydney Cricket Club. He passed away in 2018, aged 92.