Wife: Andrea.

Children: Abbey, Oliver and Charlie.

Parents: Jenny (passed away) and Bob.

Siblings: Brendan, Leanne and Sharon.

Education: Terang Primary School until grade 5 and then I transferred over to Mortlake Primary School. I did my secondary school education at Mortlake High School.

Sporting Highlights: Would have to be playing cricket on the Melbourne Cricket Ground. Another highlight is being a life member of the Mortlake Cricket Club, and I've been fortunate to have been at the MCG when Hawthorn won six grand finals.

Ian, you were born in Wangaratta but did your primary school education at Terang and Mortlake. When did the move occur for you from Wangaratta to the western district?

I was four years old when we moved to a dairy farm at Boorcan.

I've fond memories of growing up on the farm before we shifted to Woorndoo on a sheep farm.

We moved there for the last year of my primary school education.

That's why I attended Mortlake Primary School for the last year of my primary school education before going to Mortlake High.

One of your sporting highlights was playing cricket on the MCG. How did that come about?

It would have been in 2012 and I took part in a thing called the ICON Cup.

It was organised by Carlton and United Breweries and I got involved because of our business at the Mortlake IGA supermarket.

The event was a one-day round-robin cricket competition.

It was an amazing event just to walk out on the MCG without playing a game on the ground.

The ground itself was just like playing on carpet.

The late great Australian cricketer Dean Jones spoke to us before the game.

He told us money can't buy the experience of playing on the MCG and he was right.

Dean said to go out and have a bit of fun and enjoy the experience, I was so glad I did.

The game was played in December and we used a a wicket the shield cricket had been on the week before.

I made a few runs and got a couple of wickets, so I was really happy with my performance.

I got another chance to play on the MCG in 2013. It was another day organised by Carlton and United Breweries.

I made 30-odd runs and got a couple of wickets and was lucky enough to be voted on by the umpires as the player of the game.

They presented me with an autographed bat by the shield cricketers from Victoria.

The funny thing is our son Oliver has also had a hit on the MCG as part of the Milo initiative in 2007.

How old were you when your cricket career started?

I was eight when I started playing cricket for Boorcan's under 16 side.

I was lucky enough to play in the junior premiership side for Boorcan when I was nine.

We had some handy players in that side including Brian and Gary Rowbottom, Bill Bourke, Tony Moloney, Michael Steel and my brother Brendan.

I finished playing cricket at Boorcan when I was 11 and joined the Mortlake Cricket Club.

I'm still involved with Mortlake Cricket Club to this day.

Have you played in any premiership sides with Mortlake?

The simple answer is no.The closest I got was back in 1985-86.

I was 15 and was the 12th man for the A grade side which won the premiership.

There were some very talented players in that side including Robbie Jewel, John Nunn, Stewie Bishop and the Davis brothers Glen and Paul.

I'll never forget watching on in awe as Robbie Jewel was bowling.

He was very quick and put fear into a lot of batsman.

I've been with the club for more than 35 years as a player, committee man, president, coach of the under 13 side and I'm honoured to be a life member of the club.

It's a great club with plenty of hard-working volunteers who work tirelessly behind the scenes to make sure the club keeps on going.

Ian, you mentioned the Mortlake IGA. How are thing going along in business in Mortlake?

Business is pretty good in the town.

My wife Andrea's parents first got involved in the business just over 50 years ago.

I've worked there for more than 30 years.

We put in a lot of hours. We have 16 on the payroll.

I would say overall the town is going pretty good.

Mortlake offers affordable living for people who don't have the money to live in Warrnambool.

There's been a fair bit of new housing going on in the town over the last few years.

Mortlake has a wonderful community spirit.

We think it's a great spot to live and to have raised our children.

Did you play any football when you were younger?

Yes. I played out at Woorndoo in the under 18s when I was 12.

I went in to play for Mortlake and was lucky enough to play seniors under coach Gerard FitzGerald before going back to play at Woorndoo.

I had a stint out at Caramut, but my footy career ended in 1993 when I fell out of a trotting cart.

I snapped my left leg. I had two operations and had a rod inserted in my leg before it was right.

Ian, your other sporting highlight relates to Hawthorn and premierships on the MCG. It's a great effort to have been in the crowd for six Hawks flags. Who would be some of the best players you've seen play for the Hawks?

I've seen a fair few over the years that I've barracked for the Hawks.

I've got to rate Buddy Franklin highly.

He was an incredible player for the Hawks before joining the Sydney Swans.

Leigh Matthews was another champion and so was Jason Dunstall.

The Hawks have had a couple of quiet years, but I'm hoping that is going to change this year.

The club has blooded a lot of young players.

With any luck, they will stand up to the challenge this year.