By Marcus Uhe
One of the greats of the Dandenong District Cricket Association (DDCA) is set for a stellar milestone this weekend and will break new ground at Parkfield Cricket Club in the process.
Tony Payne, a DDCA Hall of Fame member and the all-time record holder for games played at the Bandits, will play game number 500 for the club in round four of the current season.
Payne’s extraordinary cricketing resume includes 11 premierships, more than 12,000 runs at an average of 29.6, 10 centuries, 105 wickets, five years as president, eight as chairman of selectors and many more accolades over his 40-year senior cricket career at Parkfield.
The Turf 1 premiership in 2009 came during his tenure as president, when the Bandits upset a dominant Springvale South side in the grand final that completed the regular season with an unblemished record.
A much-admired and respected figure throughout the DDCA, Parkfield president Patrick Hill believes it’s his selfless and personable nature that makes him so endearing to those he comes across.
“As good a cricketer as he is, and he’s probably been (one of) the best (cricketers) at our club for a long time… he’s an even better person,” Hill said.
“He spends more time at the club at night asking other people from all grades, what they did and how they went for the day, than he goes talking about his own achievements.
“While he’s pretty proud of his achievements and what he’s done, he certainly doesn’t display the ego of someone that’s scored 12,000 runs and played 500 games.
“He’s an absolute beauty and I think the club’s lucky to have had him for so long.
“You can go to Parkfield on any night now and you’ll still see him as one of the last ones at the bar, talking to other people about what they’ve done and how they went.
“It could be a bloke from the fourths making 15 and that’s been their highest score, and he’ll talk them up for the night.
“He might have just made 50 or 60 in the ones and that’s just what he’s always been like.”
Parkfield is hoping to see as many former greats of the club as possible attend on Saturday 26 November, when Parkfield’s reserves host Parkmore at Parkfield Reserve.
