How did it feel to bring up 300 games for your club, Matt?
Yeah, it was pretty cool. It’s been coming for a wee while now. We had a couple of rain-outs. Albion cricket has been a big part of my life. I think I’m third on the list at the club, so not many people have played this many.
How old are you, and how often do some of younger team-mates ask how old you are?
Hah. I’m 34. Not very often, but more often than I would like. Hockey is worse because we tend to have a lot of school kids playing in the club competition but cricket’s not too bad at this stage.
Please tell me you have a nickname more original than "Westy".
Nah, that’s pretty much it, I’m afraid.
When did you play your first game for Albion?
I think I was 16. I was in year 12 at King’s and we had the great man Warwick Larkins, who was one of the sports co-ordinators at King’s and was obviously an Albion stalwart. Us boys at the time in the second XI got called on to go help out Albion in the lower grades. He was very cunning, old Fox.
What is it about the club that has kept you involved for so long?
Just the culture, really. Everybody’s there to help everyone else out, and we play a good band of cricket. Sometimes we might be a little too casual but the social side is pretty big at Albion. It’s always a good time back at the Nest, at Culling Park. And my brother, Taylor Cumberland, is also at the club, so it’s made a big difference in the past few years.
Favourite game for Albion?
I’m not really good with favourites. But there was a game a couple of years ago. We played GI at Sunnyvale, which is the best place to win in Dunedin. We got a rare turning wicket and I think I ran through their middle order and got four wickets. I think we won by one run, and I got the last guy out, caught at second slip, which doesn’t happen very often for a slow left-armer. That’s probably my favourite one recently. And in 2016, we won all three grades, and I had a reasonable part in helping out the firsts and seconds that year. We had a couple of big weekends in a row at the club.
Funniest team-mate?
Nick Beard. Yeah. Bit of a dangerous man, on and off the field. Very good value and full of stories.
How many more games left in you?
I’ve semi-retired two seasons in a row. I’m not sure. Probably as long as I’m allowed. We’ve got a 2-year-old and a baby at home now. Maybe one or two more seasons.
And you’ve been a hockey man all this time, too?
Yeah, I started with Albany, when my old man played. And I’ve been with Taieri for the last 11-12 years. I’ve had over 200 games for Taieri after about 100 for Albany. I just love my sport. It’s the mates that you get and the culture that comes with it.
