Under the Auld Pump: Dedicated to cricket on and off the pitch

Wife: Holly. Child: Cooper.

Parents: Terry and Mary. Siblings: Chris, Hannah, Melissa and Amy.

Education: St Thomas Primary School in Terang before going to Emmanuel College Warrnambool.

Sporting highlight: playing for Dennington Cricket Club when they won the inaugural T20

competition in 2008.

Mick, what are your memories of that T20 premiership win by Dennington back in 2008?

The T20 series was sponsored by Sungold and the winning side in the final got a $10,000 cheque. We defeated Stoneyford Cricket Club to win the final.

The $10,000 helped put the Dennington Cricket Club in a lot better financial position.

The money enabled us to buy a new second-hand roller, which has seen our turf wicket improve over the years.

Where did your cricket career begin?

I first played Under 12 cricket with Garvoc.

My parents had a dairy farm at Dixie just outside of Terang. We used to milk 120 cows on 200 acres.

The family left that farm and moved to a farm at Mailors Flat of 340 acres before it was sold in 2005.

I must admit, I loved growing up on the farms.

We were always outside playing cricket or footy and it was great when my cousins turned up because we used to have some very keen sporting contests.

Grassmere and Mailors Flat had a combined Under 16 side which was coached by the late John "Jakes" McDonald and I started playing with them when I had just turned 13 years old.

Jakes played a big part in my love for cricket.

He helped out so many young kids from around the Mailors Flat and Grassmere area, not only with cricket but with things relating to young kids growing up.

Apart from playing in the Under 16 combined side, I played B Grade for Grassmere before playing in their A Grade side when I was 14 years old.

I'll never forget playing for Grassmere's A Grade side as a leg spinner and we played Woodford in a semi-final.

Woodford made more than 400 runs and I got three wickets for 50 runs, but with the great batting by Matt Schrama and his brother Simon, we defeated Woodford but sadly we lost the grand final to Panmure.

Ben Boyd was a fast bowler for Panmure at the time.

I've still got the image to this day of a very fast Ben Boyd bowling to a 14 year old boy.

My brother Chris was playing cricket for Mailors Flat, so I went out and had a few years playing there but my cricket career turned around in 1999.

What do you mean your cricket career turned around in 1999?

John Houston was captain-coach at Dennington Cricket Club in 1999.

He asked me to go out and play there.

I decided to give it a go and I'm still at the club to this very day.

Dennington has had its ups and downs over the journey.

I took over as the president of the club in 2017.

We dropped our division two side in 2017 because of a shortage of players and I played in the division one side, but now things are on the up.

We've got three senior sides and four junior sides this season.

We also have nearly 30 young children taking part in our junior program on a Thursday night.

The future looks really bright for the club as there are a lot of new homes being built around Dennington.

How are the senior cricket sides faring this season?

The division one side is in the middle of the pack while the division two side has three wins and two losses and the division three team is second on the ladder.

Are you still playing cricket this season?

Yes. I'm in the division two side.

I'm there as a leg spin bowler but had a bit of luck with the bat in one game when I made 44 not out.

The club has some really good talented young players coming through the ranks but they also need a couple of old heads to help the young blokes drive the ship.

Wearing your hat as the president of the Dennington Cricket Club, what's the financial situation like at the club leading into 2022?

We're in a pretty good position considering how COVID has impacted the club.

The club is very lucky to have some great sponsors on board who offer great financial support to the club.

I've been very fortunate to have seen the club grow over the years as I've filled various other roles apart from president including division two captain, under 17 coach, juniors co-ordinator and committeeman.

We're very lucky to have a great committee base and a wonderful group of volunteers who help out around the club.

One of those volunteers who does a sensational job is Jamie Fogarty.

Jamie is the curator and wears a few other hats.

The club would be lost without him.

Mick, what are your best performances with the bat and ball during your career?

I've been fortunate to have played cricket every season competitively since I was 13 years old.

My best figures with the ball were one day I took six wickets for 52 runs against Grassmere when I was playing for Mailors Flat.

I was lucky to make 117 runs for Dennington's division two side against Allansford a few years ago.

Over your cricket career you've seen some good players play the sport. Who would some of the best be?

I always rated Allansford's Tim McDonald very highly.

Tim was an aggressive batsman who used his feet very well to get to the pitch of the ball.

John Houston was another top player and so were Terry Beks, Mick Rantall and Dustin Drew.

Away from the cricket fields did you play any other sports?

I played a bit of footy but was not much good.

I had six years playing in the reserves with Caramut and then went on to play with South Rovers, Russell's Creek and Old Collegians but I really struggled as a footballer.

I've just always loved playing or being involved with cricket.