IT’S NOT often the men in the middle and administrators of sport get their day in the sun, normally the athletes they control are the ones that get all of the accolades.
But two of the region’s greatest servants to cricket were able to stand up and take a bow yesterday, with Barry Greatz and Ken Cunningham being honoured with Distinguished Service Awards for decades of dedication.
Both men were predictably humble when it came to their latest accolade, saying giving back to the game they love and feel deeply about means it’s a passion they don’t mind giving their time for. And while they don’t like to talk about what they have given back to the game in the area, both of their records cannot be ignored.
Greatz played in 40 consecutive seasons in both Leeton and Griffith, representing both associations at representative level.
Greatz’s coaching involvement is also impressive, with an under 18 tour of New Zealand and a country title with the Riverina Colts to his name.
And he has worn just about every administrative hat there is during his decades of service.
Greatz, however, said it was easy to make such a commitment to the game when your involvement went further than just yourself.
“Both Ken and I made the comment, it’s been a lifetime experience. We’ve both been involved for about 40 years and then you get kids and then it just follows on from there, but it’s not about the recognition at all,” Greatz said. “As far as highlights go, for me it was really enjoyable to coach the Riverina colts when they won the country championships a couple of years ago.
“But most of my enjoyment comes at home with Leeton. We’ve been a very competitive association for a couple of years now and that’s the best thing for me.”
As for Cunningham, his knowledge on the technical and basic aspects of the game has reached hundreds of promising juniors through his past role as the zone director for coaching.
That inside and out knowledge of the game has made him a well-respected umpire, and he has stood in all manner of senior representative games. But it’s working with the emerging players that Cunningham has become famous for, with the long-time servant adding the latest Gorrel Cup is an excellent chance for the local players to strut their stuff.
“That’s one of the things that we highlight with the boys, there are people snooping around watching and at around the under 16s there are people that are earmarked, but it’s the package performance on the field and off the field as well,” Cunningham said.
Both men also lamented the busy lifestyles that have slowed the involvement of representative cricket, with Cunningham saying the added stresses of life have begun to limit the amount of people available for the premier forms of the game in the region.
Email a friend