Cricketer cracks 200 games

AFTER twenty years with the Ballarat-Redan Cricket Club, member Shaun Boag is celebrating a team milestone.

Boag played his 200th game with the club during a match against East Ballarat Cricket Club earlier this month and said it’s a rare record for Ballarat-Redan.

“It’s a big milestone. We don’t have a large number of players in the club that have got there,” he said.

“The next goal is of course 300, which might take me a while. I came to the club as an 18-year-old with a couple mates and now that’s 20 years of my life playing cricket here.

“It’s been half my life almost. I jumped on the 2002/03 season. Both my first game and my 200th were against East Ballarat.”

Before joining Ballarat-Redan, Boag played at Burrumbeet Cricket Club with his dad and grew up bouncing between cricket and football with his brothers in Gippsland.

He said the social side of the club is what’s kept him there for two decades.

“It’s always been about playing with my mates and having a lot of fun,” he said. “I’ve been very lucky to do that here.

“The social aspect of the game is the real reason I’m still playing now. It gives you that release from the hectic work week to be able to get out and do this.

“They’re all just great people, and from a cricketing point of view, I just love hitting the ball and trying to get those runs as quick as I can.”