By Marcus Uhe
Tony Payne can remember every single reason why he missed a game of cricket during his 30 seasons in the First XI at Parkfield Cricket Club.
Thankfully, there’s only two – injuries, and Best Man duties at his Brother David’s wedding.
The combination of his incredible durability, a slice of luck and love for both cricket and Parkfield all worked hand-in-hand to ensure his 500th game milestone last weekend was reached in staggering time.
On Saturday, Payne received a guard of honour as he walked to the wicket from both teammates and opponents on his way to the wicket, and celebrations continued after the final ball was bowled, into the night.
Cricketers can be hard to pin down for social occasions in summer when the sun is out, the mercury rises and the appetite for outdoor activities peaks.
Payne knows that he has let a lot of events and invitations go through to the ‘keeper or been forced to play a forward defence rather than indulge in a more-enticing swing of the bat, but is the last person to ponder missed opportunities.
A kid who loved watching his late Father, John play for Virginia Park and sub-fielding whenever he could in John’s lower grades sides, a residential move to Noble Park as a child – specifically Dumblane Road – was the ultimate accelerant to an already burgeoning love for cricket.
Despite a rocky beginning to life at Parkfield on the pitch, including losing his stumps three deliveries in a row at his first training session on Malthoid nets anticipating non-existent bounce, and being thrown the ball after his wicketkeeper had taken off his pads to roll his arm over during his senior debut as a teenager, 46 summers later, across junior and senior cricket, the 55-year-old has barely looked back.
One season at Dandenong allowed him to test the waters of Premier Cricket, but his loyalty to Parkfield saw him scurry back to the club at the end of a day’s play for post-game drinks with those he had formed such intricate bonds with.
For Payne, as competitive as he is – confessing to offering faux critiques on an opposition batter’s technique from gully at just the right volume to sow seeds of doubt into the mind – it’s the camaraderie that cricket provides that has kept him coming back, year, after year, after year.
“I love meeting people and we’ve all got something in common; we play cricket for a reason because we love it, so we’ve got that bond automatically,” Payne said.
“It’s the enjoyment of the challenge, looking forward to getting down and seeing the guys each week, training hard together with a common purpose and getting rewards.
“Even individually, because it is a challenge… As a batter you’ve got 11 of the opposition out there plotting their best to dismiss you and when you can overcome that, both physically and verbally, and have some success, it’s rewarding because you’ve achieved something.
“I’m really competitive and like to win; if you can do something that helps us win a cricket game that I’m a part of, I’m indebted to you and I’ll help you celebrate that.
“I’ve always really enjoyed that and a lot of my memories or celebrations are with other people’s successes.
“You train with these people for a long long time and some people go through some hard spots and fall out of love with the game, but when you see them finally succeed, it’s so rewarding.”
As a child, Payne and his brother were cricket-mad, even manipulating pieces of equipment designed for other sports – purchased by their parents in an attempt to broaden horizons – eventually correlating into something cricket-adjacent.
A tennis racquet with a ball attached elastically to allow players to rally with themselves, for example, became a makeshift bowling machine when operated by two people, while Saturday’s post their own games at junior level were consistently followed by trips to watch the senior sides in the off-chance they would be afforded a golden ticket – the chance to substitute field.
The commitment to his craft provided him a long and distinguished career at senior level over 30 years, and in reserves grades in the latter stages of his career, with more than 12,000 runs, 105 wickets and 11 premierships to his name alongside numerous other accolades.
Extraordinary runs of success – 11 grand final triumphs from 13 appearances, wins in his first nine grand finals, helping the seniors climb from A-Grade to Turf 1 premiership contention in four seasons – bring with it infinite intangibles, and yet his memory remains sharp, with his ability to recall games and scores at short notice an incredibly impressive attribute.
In many ways, he remains a cricketer of the old generation through which he was raised.
Not only has he steered clear from the amateur cricket stock market and not entertained offers from other clubs to ply his trade, he never played for money while at Parkfield, bar a fee during a period as an assistant coach.
And as the proliferation of limited overs cricket infiltrates the grassroots, his jaw hangs aghast at some of the ingenuity and hair-raising efforts he witnesses in the nets from the younger generation.
Despite not succumbing to the pressures of rival outfits by switching clubs, Payne is an incredibly popular figure in Dandenong District Cricket Association circles.
A cursory glance at any reference to his incredible quintuple-hundred celebrations in recent weeks on social media saw a multitude of well-wishes and messages of support from not only former teammates, but past combatants and opponents across the competition.
There’s simply not much left for Payne to achieve at Parkfield, with each and every year offering a new set of challenges and opportunities to face, conquer and overcome.
2025/26 will be no different, aside from one major variable – Payne won’t be dragging out the cricket kit and dusting off his blue cap for another summer to chase a Kookaburra on sweltering hot days, having made the decision that this season will be his last.
“I’m going to miss it, I know I’m going to miss it,” he said.
“The week before, walking into the rooms on a Saturday and seeing all the guys, then going out to battle, it’s still really enjoyable, but there’s got to come a time.”
Weekends away with the family and extra time on the golf course await for a summer 46 years in the making.
As for the current season, team success is at the forefront of Payne’s mind.
“Win as many games as we can and I’d love to win another premiership – that would be an awesome way to finish.”
