The Marcellin Old Collegians Cricket Club are incredibly pleased to congratulate club legend and life member Ron Murray who played his 250th senior game for the club last Saturday. What a fantastic achievement.
Ron commenced at Marcellin Old Collegians Cricket Club in 2000 and was recruited by Steve Kost. He played all of his junior cricket at Ringwood cricket club.
Over the years Ron has played in all 4 senior teams and has contributed strongly with both bat and ball in the following premiership teams
· 3rdrdXI – 2002/03
· 2nd XI – 2004/05 – Where Ron opened both the batting and the bowling
· 2nd XI – 2009/10
· 3rd XI – 2012/13
· 3rd XI – 2013/14
Probably best known for his bowling, Ron has made a habit out of taking wickets with his medium pace swing bowling. His ability after all these years to still regularly take wickets at a pace that has recently been described as “Almost going backwards”, is an inspiration to all of us as we get older. His achievements with the ball have won Marcellin many matches over the years. Here’s just a few:
· Taken over 250 wickets for MOCCC in all grades
· Best Bowling of 7/18
· The very rare feat of two 2ndndXI hat-tricks
· 2 time winner of the ECA Division bowling averages
· 5 time winner of MOCCC team bowling averages
Ron’s batting has been underrated for the entirety of his MOCCC career and some of these achievements include
· Over 1500 runs made for MOCCC in all grades
· Highest score of 84 not out
· In the 2004/05 Premiership team he opened the batting for the entire season
· Has been a part of 3 partnerships that have been higher than 100 runs including a match winning 154 run stand with Anthony McIntosh.
· Hitting a boundary off the last ball of the match to win the 3rd XI a semi final last season in one of the more bizarre matches ever seen
As impressive as his on field work has been probably the most important contributions from Ron has been off field. Over the years he has
· Served on the committee for 14 years
· Had long stints as Treasurer & Secretary
· Was awarded MOCCC Life Membership in 2011
· Has won the President’s Award for his off field contributions on two occasions.
Over the years Ron has become a favourite of both his team mates and MOCCC supporters. Some of his quirks that have entertained his team mates for years include:
· Shining the ball on the top of his head
· Bringing his own ‘Swing King’ ball to training that no one else is permitted to use.
· Being angry at himself at the end of every over whether he has just taken two wickets or been hit for 15 runs.
· The most impressive achievement in Ron’s time at MOCCC may well be his ability to put up with Andrew ‘Trev’ Keogh trying to get under his skin week in week out for 20 years, a habit that Trev has promised won’t stop any time soon.
Looking past the stats and on-field achievements, Ron is a fantastic Marcellin Old Collegians Cricket Club person. He is well respected by his teammates and opponents, both as a player and as a person. He is always one of the first people to put his hand up to assist the club in any capacity needed. We are extremely lucky to have someone like Ron at Marcellin Old Collegians Cricket Club and congratulate him from all at MOCCC on 250 magnificent games.