By LIAM TWOMEY
BEFORE a ball had been bowled in the 2013/14 cricket season, Neil Temby was raising his bat.
However, this was for no ordinary milestone.
When Temby arrived for the first training session of the new summer, it marked his 50th consecutive season with the St John’s Cricket Club in Williamstown.
Since joining the club as a nine-year-old in 1963, Temby has made its Kororoit Creek Road base his own during a stunning career.
While his 7791 runs and 783 wickets are amazing individual achievements, the now 59-year-old said it was the search for team success which continued to bring him back, Saturday after Saturday.
Throughout his career, the now Point Cook resident has played in 10 premiership-winning sides – including with his father (’84/’85), his brother David (’97/’98) and most recently both his sons, Daniel and Jacob in (’02/’03).
“My father played for St John’s and he was a real club person. That stream of loyalty was passed through to myself and I have kept playing here,” Temby said.
“When I was 21 or 22, I had a bloke who had played a lot of cricket with me. He was the best man at my wedding.
“We used to joke with each other and say, how would it be if we had two boys and they both ended up playing at the same cricket club.
“Twenty years later, both of them are playing and they have both been captains and they have both played in grand-finals.”
While Temby is quick to deflect his individual accolades, there is no denying his place among the greats of the Western Suburbs United Churches Cricket Association.
As well as his 10 flags, he is a former St John’s captain, has scored the most runs and taken the most wickets in the club’s history and is a hall of fame member.
And just to put some icing on top of the already enormous cake, he claimed a hat-trick all the way back in the under-16s.
With a resume of that quality, it is no surprise he is also a member of the WSUCCA Team of the Century.
“When I hear my boys say, you were picked in the team of the century, then that is great,” Temby said.
“When you look at it, from 1954 to 2003 (team of the century years), that is a long time so just to get your name mentioned in the same sentence as a few of those players is a great honour. I don’t perceive myself as being in the same category to be quite honest.
“But if someone said to me, what are your highlights, I wouldn’t say being picked in that team. I would say playing with my dad, playing with my family and playing for this club.”
After half a century of terrorising batsmen and dispatching bowlers, Temby will hang up the boots at the end of the 2013/’14 season.
That begs the question, how does St John’s go about replacing 460 matches, 4857 overs and 390 innings worth of experience in the middle?
Club secretary Graeme McGuinness said Temby’s mentoring of young players would leave St John’s in a position of strength.
“Neil is a great mentor for these young guys,” McGuinness said.
“Yes we are going to lose his experience but the work he has done teaching these guys will still be here.
“In terms of team morale and the batting and bowling, on the field, you can’t replace him. You can’t buy that experience coming into the side.
“You can’t replace someone who has scored that many runs, taken that many wickets and has 50 years of experience. But also he is just such a great club person.”
Temby’s son Daniel added that he was a long way off trying to match his father’s records but would miss having him out in the middle.
“It’s been a great experience,” Daniel said.
“I was lucky enough to captain a side that he played in and we won a premiership. I’ve just been lucky I guess that I have been able to play with my father, uncle and brother.
“I think I’ve played about 22 or 23 years at the moment so it will depend how the body holds up. Fifty is a long way off for me.”
Before he officially retires, the St John’s Cricket Club will be holding a special celebratory game on Saturday 18 January.
For the final time, Temby will line up with his sons and brother as the club mounts yet another premiership assault to finish the season.
“I have always been lucky because my mates were my cricket buddies,” Temby said.
“Where some people finish playing cricket and go and find their mates, mine were the same people. That always keeps you around.
“There is no question that it is sad. I’ve finished playing with my family and close friends. The fun that we have before we go on, during the game and after the game, I will miss all that stuff.”
