Not often one starts a day at the cricket by rising at 5am, but that was my want this morning. I had to be at the MCG by 7am to meet up with an old sporting colleague and fifty-year-member John Glasscock and his family for the Women in Cricket Breakfast.
For a boy who now lives in Mildura, I found it a bit hard putting on a collar and tie - let alone a jacket. Weather for Mildura for the next three days: 40 plus. Glad I'm here.This was the first of these breakfasts I had attended and I was dismayed in some respects that there seemed to be more men than women in attendance.
Angela Pippos makes a delightful MC. Is she still Master of Ceremonies or is it, to be correct, Mistress? Espousing the role of women in sport I was delighted when she mentioned the push to have a statue of Australia’s greatest all-rounder Betty Wilson. My favourite trivia question! Which Australian Test cricketer took 10 wickets and made a century in a Test match?
Great to catch up with “Johnny G” and reminisce about the cricket and football we shared from school days in the `50s onwards.
John has a great MCC pedigree. His father played with the Redlegs in the late `20s and unfortunately injured himself and a promising career as a footballer. He continued to be a fine country cricketer and turned his hand to golf where he excelled. His sons George and John followed his prowess in both cricket and football. George as a leg-spinning batsman and John as an elegant number 4.
In my years of writing football in the bush I regarded Johnny G as one the best players never to have played in the VFL. “If” - and it always a big “if” - he had been playing today, he would have certainly played at AFL level.
John loves the MCG and was recently awarded a prize for attending the most functions for the year at the 'G. Not bad for a guy who has lived all his life farming at Koo Wee Rup.
By the way he holds a run scoring record at the 'G too. Yes, the only batsman ever to score a seven, made while playing for the Melbourne Hunt Club against the MCC in the early `60s. “I drove the ball towards one of the long boundaries and I think the fieldsman expected it to roll into the gutter but it didn’t and Ian Watson (the other batsman) and I just kept on running.”
John and I played cricket together at Koo Wee Rup and I happened to captain our premiership A-Grade team in 1968-69 and John played in Koo Wee Rup’s drought-breaking premiership in 1969 under the skilful coaching of Milne McCooke, father of Melbourne legend Stephen. There will be a couple of fifty year anniversaries next year.
Like many members of the MCC the Boxing Day Test is special not just for the cricket but to catch up with people with whom you have had lifelong relationships. On Boxing Day itself for example, I caught up with two guys who I played cricket with and coached in football, another who I went to University with and one more who I played cricket with in England!
No wonder it was a good day.
‘Citrus’ Bob Utber has been a member of the MCC for more than 30 years and it his place of pilgrimage every year. He has been writing sport, mostly honorary, for more than 50 years - firstly with the Pakenham Gazette and in recent years has been the honorary international cricket correspondent for The Footy Almanac. He lives in Mildura with his wife and two dogs “Freddy Flintoff” and “Chloe on Flinders”. His great passion is cricket. He hardly ever misses a Test match.