East Torrens captain Michael Cranmer reflects on death of twin brother and teammate Andrew

ANDREW Cranmer was a teammate, backyard cricket rival and friend to his twin brother and fellow East Torrens player Michael.

TEAMMATE. Backyard cricket rival. Friend. Brother.

Andrew Cranmer has been all those things, and more, to his twin Michael over the years.

They shared a bedroom until they were five, were classmates at St Peter’s College and played more than a decade at East Torrens District Cricket Club.

Andrew died in Bowral, NSW, on February 1, aged 24, following a tragic accident with a train.

Michael, of St Peters, says his brother was the “heart and soul” of the Reds.

“Being a twin brother we were as close as what you imagine,” Michael says.

“He’d been the first one to give me a call after a game and ask me how I went, tell me how he did.

“And he had a great relationship with everyone at the club — players, support staff, mums who cook the food — and had an ability to make friends with anyone.”

The Cranmers were backyard cricket opponents “from day one” before becoming teammates in the Reds’ juniors, where they played in an under-14 premiership.

Both all-rounders, Michael eventually established himself in the A Grade — he is now the captain — and Andrew became a fixture in the lower grades.

“We’ve had some great times playing together, whether for school or East Torrens.

“In our first ever game for East Torrens’s under-14s I got 140 and he managed to take a hat-trick.”

On the night of Andrew’s death, Michael was with East Torrens teammates Ben Dougall, Adam Zampa, Luke Sheridan and Jake Lehmann when his phone rang about 11.30pm.

His mum, Penny, told him the news.

“Everything just went numb, everything went quiet and nothing made sense.

“It still hasn’t really sunk in to be honest.”

Michael was reluctant to play in the Reds’ two-day match against Glenelg the following Saturday, only doing so after encouragement from Penny.

During the game he struggled to concentrate on the field and slept in the changerooms through the second session to “recharge the batteries”.

“It was obviously really tough not having Andrew at home to talk rubbish with before we head off to cricket.

“Before the game as a team we talked about doing each other proud and Andrew proud.”

The match ended with Michael taking a spectacular diving catch to seal a narrow East Torrens win.

“It was just one of those moments in sport that was meant to be, you can’t explain it.

“I can’t say I’ve experienced 11 blokes crying and screaming with joy at the same time on a field before.”

Michael says although Andrew’s death has rocked the Reds it has also brought the club closer together and will spur it on for the rest of the season — and beyond.

“It’s been an emotional couple of weeks but we’ve had amazing support from everyone in the whole South Australian cricket community and obviously the club, which is a testament to the person Andy was.

“Everyone loved him.”

Meanwhile, East Torrens has unveiled plans to honour Andrew’s memory with a perpetual award.

Reds officials have been discussing how best to recognise their former player and are leaning towards naming a players’ player of the year medal after him.

Club coach Wayne Bradbrook says Andrew was a special character who had a major influence on the whole squad.

“If we had a new player at the club he’d be the first one to walk up and say I’m Andrew, welcome to the club,” Bradbrook says.

“He cared for everybody.

“He was a true friend, a true man and a great guy.”

Bradbrook describes Andrew, whom he first met about six years ago while a batting coach at the Reds, as having a terrific sense of humour.

“He’d walk past, grab you on the cheek of the bum then kiss you on the face,” he says.

Bradbrook says the club is considering naming the award the “Andrew Cranmer MOM” because the 24-year-old would joke he was always the man of the match.

“Even if someone made a hundred he’d cheekily smile and say ‘yeah but I was the MOM’.”