TERRY Beks arrived at Dennington expecting to stay "two or three" years.
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More than 30 years later, he's still charging in to bowl in red and white.
Beks celebrated his 400th match in style on Saturday, clinching the final wicket to help Dennington to its first triumph of the season alongside sons Xavier and Shannon.
The milestone capped decades of dominance.
Beks followed his brother, Leon, to Dennington in 1989 after playing juniors with Grassmere.
It was originally going to be a short stint - but new friendships, the birth of children and junior coaching meant he stayed put.
His tenure has yielded seven premierships, more than 700 wickets and a host of personal accolades.
But Beks' love of the sport has driven his longevity.
"I enjoy playing and my lads are playing and that makes it even better. I didn't really think about it - it comes along," he said.
"On Facebook my memories came through a couple of weeks ago and it was seven years since I'd played my 300th. That's bloody flown by too.
"Before you know it, another seven years have gone by and another 100 games."
I enjoy playing and my lads are playing and that makes it even better.
- Terry Beks
The medium-pacer said playing with his three sons was among the most memorable moments of his career.
"We played a couple of games last year. Brayden is a bit more casual with his cricket than Xave and Shannon but it was fantastic," Beks said.
"It's fun out there - they might drop a catch or get a wicket or something - it's just good fun."
Cricket has evolved in the past 30 years - and Beks' training regimen has too.
He used to spend up to two hours bowling at high intensity on Tuesday and Thursday nights. Now, his approach his different.
"I do a lot more gym work now just to keep myself fit," Beks said.
"But I stick my head in to show I'm still around."
The 54-year-old, who is a National Tiles franchisee, is still finding ways to leave a mark in the scorebook, too.
"Now we have the 12th man, so I don't need to bat. I think I'm still bowling all right," Beks said.
"I think I'm pretty economical and I'm still getting a few wickets. Because you're playing a lot of Twenty20s and one-dayers, you need a few more bowlers.
"I'm that extra bowler, really."
Beks is a self-professed "big kid" and is still enjoying the weekly cricket grind.
"I have a business and if you don't do something, you'd go to work and end up stuck there," he said.
"I'm a big kid, so I like playing with my mates. It's the cricket, and it's the after-cricket that I'm still enjoying."
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