Congratulations to “Other Wayne” Matthew Cummins who played his 50th senior match for the Echidnas yesterday.
A Nairne junior (we won’t hold that against him 😉 ) Matty went on to play a couple of seasons of senior cricket at Nairne and a further season at Maccy before retiring for almost ten (10) years.
He was eventually lured out to the Hill early in the 2020/21 season, shortly after twin Wayne Cummins had debuted for the Echidnas, and hasn’t looked back since.
Possessing an ability in all areas of the game, versatility has been the name of the game for Matt, who showed strong fielding ability in the 2020/21 season but only received limited opportunities with both the bat & ball. In both 2021/22 & 2022/23, he emerged as a steady opening batter & useful 5th or 6th bowling option in C Grade & then B Grade, with notable scores of 49, 43* & 74* and best bowling of 3/10 & 3/11. He also took home the Best Fielder Trophy in each of those seasons.
This season, after playing C’s in the opening round, Matty was promoted to A2’s & pushed down the order to bat at No. 8/9 but he has become a major piece of our strong A2’s bowling cartel, leading their wickets at the Christmas break and presently sitting T-3rd with 11 wickets at 17.18, whilst his economy rate has improved on virtually a weekly basis as he’s become more & more comfortable at A2’s level, culminating in a dominant display in last week’s A Grade T20 when he conceded just 9 runs from his 4 overs.
Matty is also a good club man who is almost always at training and is happy to lend a hand around the place. He also has a young daughter, Esmae, who is often up at the club with him & who will hopefully join Cricket Blast next season.
Well done Matty!
