Three generations of the Sankey family joined a rare club over the past two weekends as they took to the field for Lancefield in a Gisborne and District Cricket Association match.
Tigers’ North-grade captain Shane Sankey played with his sons Callum and Matthew, as he has done often in recent seasons, in a two-day clash against Macedon.
This time around, they were joined by another of Shane’s sons, 11-year-old Ben, for just his second-ever senior match.
And after a little bit of coaxing, Shane’s father Tom Sankey made his debut for the Tigers at the age of 77.
“It’s about 25 years since I’ve played with him,” Shane said of his dad after day one of the match. “Kevin McDonald [club president] and Luke Barker [senior coach] allowed him to come over and play. It got mentioned about playing together a while ago and dad’s ears pricked up. He’s always coming to watch the boys play cricket and was excited to join them.”
While playing his first game for Lancefield, Tom was more than a handy cricketer in his prime. He’s a life member of the Gisborne Cricket Club and his cricket and football achievements on and off the field led to Gisborne’s Sankey Reserve being named in his honour. Despite his age, Tom continues to play cricket regularly.
“He’s semi-retired from cricket but still plays in the Sunbury and District over-60s,” Shane added. “He also represented Victoria in over-70s cricket. On Saturday he kept [wicket] for 40 overs and was still throwing himself around behind the stumps.”
Shane said taking to the field with his father and three of his five sons was a special moment. His two younger sons, Tom and Ryan, play in under-11s. “When the kids were asked if they wanted to play with Pa they were very excited and during the game, there was a good buzz.”
The result, though, didn’t go the Tigers’ way with Macedon’s target too big. Macedon made 190 on day one, with 14-year-old Matthew and 12-year-old Callum taking two wickets each for the Tigers.
After missing out on their Pa taking catches on any of their wickets, Shane hoped at least one of his kids would get to bat with their grandad.
His wish came true, with Matthew and Tom putting on a fifth-wicket partnership of nine. Shane top-scored with 53 in the side’s reply of 152. Matthew made 21, Callum six, Ben four not out, and Tom one.
