Cricket: Club's 150 years marked

Trying out a 1930s bat is the youngest Oamaru Cricket Club member, Lachlan Brookes (10), getting...
Trying out a 1930s bat is the youngest Oamaru Cricket Club member, Lachlan Brookes (10), getting some advice from the oldest, Ian Catto (82), at the club's 150th celebrations in Oamaru on Saturday. Photo by David Bruce.
They may be 72 years apart in age, but Lachlan Brookes and Ian Catto share one thing in common - a love of cricket.

Lachlan, from Oamaru, is the youngest member of the Oamaru Cricket Club.

Catto,from Nelson, was the oldest of about 80 former members at various events to celebrate the club's 150th jubilee during the weekend.

The were admiring a 1930s cricket bat, which the club presents as the trophy for the best batsman each year.

The rubber grip was bubbled and perished, but Catto said: ''Put a new grip on and you could play with it today.''

The bat was used by Carl Zimmermann, who still holds the club record for an innings of 212.

One of the club's greatest batsmen, he played in the 1920s and 1930s, in three successive innings scoring a total of 476 runs, which included the record 212.

He is best remembered for his second innings playing for North Otago against Australia, when he scored 117 not out, including a century in 46 minutes.

Catto, a pharmacist, freely admits he never reached those heights.

He first played for the club when he was 17, and played from 1948 to 1965, mostly in junior grades. After he shifted to Nelson to set up his own pharmacy, he stopped playing because of the pressures of a new business.

He regarded himself as a batsman, his high score ''90-something not out in one game''.

Lachlan plays for the club's second grade team which, until recently, was captained by his father, Andrew.

He started playing in the team last season, regarding himself as more of a bowler than a batsman. His best result so far is two for 10 off two overs.

Established in 1864, Oamaru is one of the oldest clubs in New Zealand.

During its 150 years, the club has produced some top players, the most recent David Sewell, who played for North Otago, Otago and New Zealand. Others included John Reid, the former New Zealand captain, who played for Oamaru when he worked in the town.

After being formed in early 1864, the club played its first game on Takaro Park in central Oamaru on March 11.

It shifted to a ground just north of the Oamaru Showgrounds and, after 1911, used various pitches around Oamaru before settling at Awamoa Park where it built a pavilion.

In 2000, it shifted to Centennial Park, joining up with Excelsior Sports Clubs.

An auction of 17 items - including a wide variety of cricket clothing from Sewell's collection - at the club's 150th celebration dinner at the Loan and Merc on Saturday night raised more than $3500 for the club.

 

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