Jamie Haynes

Class of 1992

I write this piece having just finished rolling the hallowed pitch on Owens Oval, preparing for the final game of the season as coach of the First XI Cricket Team, my mind wandering back to 1992 where I sat on this very roller, praying that I’d score some runs and we’d beat Grammar to win the ASC Championship. I joined St Edmund’s College in 1991 as a Year 11 student having finished my high school days at Padua Catholic High School. I was a keen sportsman and was fortunate to have the makings of a solid opening batsman and reliable wicketkeeper. The lure of Eddies was strong and the decision for me to enroll was easy after meeting the then Sportsmaster and First XI and First XV coach, John Papahatzis. Papa’s passion and enthusiasm was evident and he soon had me under his wing, teaching me the subtleties of sport, gamesmanship and also downloading Eddies DNA into my blood. The clunking of the roller and the rustling of the wind through the trees on Canberra Avenue have me remembering my first days at Eddies, I was lucky to have a good network of friends already at the school and I was able to quickly establish a tight knit group of friends that I am still in touch with today. I was quickly introduced to a sausage roll in a bun and the game of brandings in the squash courts with the lights turned out. Things that left indelible memories on my brain and indeed on my skin. In 1992, thanks to the school and ‘Papa’, I was given the opportunity to lead a very successful First XI cricket team, which in turn saw me gain the honour of captaining both the ASC and Australian Christian Brother’s team. These opportunities saw me springboard into 1st Grade cricket where Papa’s tutorship gave me the resilience to cope with both the physical and mental rigors of playing with and against grown men. Having graduated in 1992 and after two and half years of studying a journalism degree at the University of Canberra, I travelled overseas to England, where in 1995 I was offered a professional contract with Lancashire County Cricket Club. In my time at Lancashire I had the privilege of playing with some of the greats of the game, including Wasim Akram, Muttiah Muralitharan, Stuart Law and Andrew Flintoff ; my first professional coach was even the great Bobby Simpson. As I roll over another popping crease, I can vividly recall my first wicketkeeping dismissal during my First Class debut in 1996 at Old Trafford Manchester. We were playing a very good Middlesex side that had the likes of Mike Gatting and Phil Tuffnell. The dismissal was in the last over before lunch and Mike Atherton, the then England captain, was fielding in close and was suggesting to a rotund Mike Gatting that he might want to get out so he could have two helpings of the bread and butter pudding which was on offer at lunch. In between the giggles of those around the bat, off spinner Mike Watkinson bowled a looping delivery and Gatting seeing the trajectory ran down the wicket and tried to redirect the ball into Atherton’s nose, fortunately for Athers and for me, the ball turned sharply and I was able to stump him down the leg-side. It was a long way from Owens Oval but the banter was akin to an Eddies vs Marist match or a game in the quad where I had learnt to give as good as I got but also to concentrate on the job at hand. I returned to Canberra in 2009 where I was fortunate to be selected for a cadetship within the Department of Defence, this time calling on

my English skills, honed by long suffering Double Major English teachers who tried to get my head into some books as opposed to a cricket net. Somehow they must have got through, as I am still employed within the Department working as a Media and Communications Manager in a high profile Defence taskforce. The school and I had parted ways for some 30 years, but now my I am reconnecting as my son Oliver is an Eddies’ boy currently in Year 6, amazingly; and probably highlighting the magnetic pull of the school, his teacher is one of my best mates and opening partner from my college days, Neil Roberts. Neil, who is one of the finest First XV coaches the school has seen, convinced me to coach the First XI Cricket Team and in the spirit of rekindling our partnership I accepted with great pride. As a proud coach and old boy, I show the new crop of cricketer’s my baggy blue cap; (that is nearly twice as old as any of them) and try to instill in them, as was instilled in me, how extremely lucky and privileged you are to call yourself an Eddies Boy. Explaining that without the years of guidance and pastoral care that I received, I’m sure I would not have been in a position to live out my dream of being a professional cricketer. For all those Old Boys out there who also have fond memories of their time at the school and want to put something back in to the school, please reach out to the Old Boy’s Association and help guide the current Eddies boys on their journey in life. Because as time goes by and as my senior years quickly evaporated I often wish that I had more time at the school, more chances to sing the school song, more chances to sing the war cry, more chances to be part of a brotherhood that gave me the discipline and skills needed to thrive in the outside world. Edmund’s To The Fore!