After having his world turned upside down, former Redback Michael Cranmer has found his way again
After having his world turned upside down with the death of his twin brother and mate Phil Hughes, former Redback Michael Cranmer has found his way again. Plus all the weekend grade cricket highlights.
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MICHAEL Cranmer has been to hell and back.
In the space of nine months four years ago, the former Australian under-19 all-rounder lost his twin brother Andrew and close mate, Australian Test opening batsman Phil Hughes — both teammates at East Torrens — in the prime of their lives.
At the same time, his long-time dream of being a professional cricketer — and possibly playing Test cricket for Australia — suffered a serious blow when he lost his Redbacks contract after playing just two one-day games.
“It was an extremely difficult time, not just for me but for my family and friends,’’ Cranmer said.
“Andrew wasn’t just a brother to me but a great mate and a great mate to everyone at East Torrens.
“And to lose Phil nine months later — also in tragic circumstances — was again incredibly tough.
“It is something you never really comes to term with and I am still learning how to deal with it all.
“I can’t really articulate what I have learnt along the way, other than how amazing my family and friendship group, including those at the cricket club, have been to help me get through it.
“To be able to get back into cricket and now land on my feet in the workforce is something I am pretty proud of.’’
At age 29 and nine years removed from his last List A game against Western Australia and three years since he last played a Second XI game for SA, Cranmer is in some of the form of his life.
He cracked a spectacular 107 from just 60 balls, with three sixes and 13 boundaries, in the Reds’ brilliant chase down of Woodville’s 4/204 in the Twenty20 Cup clash at Woodville on Saturday, combining with Redback and Striker Jake Lehmann (66) for a 150-run opening stand.
In five T20 matches this season, Cranmer sits second in the competition with 268 runs at an average of 89.33 with a strike rate of 182.3.
Only Port Adelaide’s Ben Cooper — the younger brother of Redback and Melbourne Renegade Tom Cooper — has scored more T20 runs, with 270 at an average of 67.5.
Cranmer also has taken a team-best seven wickets with his off-spinners, including a matchwinning 5/19 against Kensington.
With a 3-2 win-loss record leading into the last minor round series on Friday night, East Torrens, which hosts defending champion Tea Tree Gully, has a chance of playing finals.
Off the field, Cranmer — with support from the Australian Cricketers’ Association
through its internship program — has just completed his first year as digital media co-ordinator for the Port Adelaide Football Club.
He has almost finished a bachelor of communication, journalism and public relations degree through Open Universities Australia.
“With what’s happened it’s been a long, tough road but I’ve now found a good balance with my life,’’ said Cranmer, who has travelled the globe playing cricket, spending six Australian winters in the UK.
“When I was young all I wanted to do was play cricket for SA and, ideally, for Australia,
but unfortunately I wasn’t able to nail my opportunities.
“I didn’t want to give up on my cricket dream but the time came when I realised that it (a professional cricket career) probably wasn’t going to happen for me, so I had to look at life after the sport.
“Port has been great in giving me an opportunity to work full-time in a professional environment where I am surrounded by professional athletes, while still allowing me to play cricket, so it's the best of both worlds.’’
But not a day goes by when Cranmer doesn’t think about his two late mates, who died in 2014 — Andrew in a train accident and Hughes when he was a hit by a ball while batting for SA against NSW in Sydney.
“They are always by my side and what happened to them has helped me mature a lot as a person, realising that life is precious,’’ Cranmer said.
The passionate clubman has won just one piece of silverware for the Reds — the One-Day Cup in 2014/15 — and desperately covets more before he retires.
“Team success is what is driving me now,’’ Cranmer said.
“I want to win more flags for this great club.’’
BEST WITH BAT
MEN
Ben Cooper (Port) 117 no
Josh Barrett (SD) 111
Michael Cranmer (ET) 107
Tom Kelly (Sturt) 98 no
Conor McInerney (Wood) 88
Jake Lehmann (ET) 66
WOMEN
Brooke Harris (WT) 71 no
Ellie Falconer (WT) 70 no
Mary Waldron (Port) 44
Sarah Lowe (Kens) 41 no
BEST WITH BALL
MEN
Cameron Laird (ND) 5/16
Austin Umpherston (Port) 4/13
Charlie Parker (Sturt) 3/8
Dillon King (ET) 3/8
Daniel Drew (WT) 3/12
Spencer Johnson (WT) 3/12
WOMEN
Brooke Harris (WT) 3/7
Ellie Falconer (WT) 2/10
Alicia Dean (Port) 2/16
Eliza Doddridge (Kens) 2/15
PLAYER OF THE WEEK
BEN COOPER
Younger brother of Redback Tom Cooper thumped a matchwinning 117 not out off 63 balls (three sixes, 15 fours) as Port Adelaide chased down Southern District’s 2/175 with 20 balls to spare in the T20 Cup.
CHAMPION PLAYER OF THE SEASON
Jake Winter (Glen) 842
Jake Brown (Kens) 779
Sam Kerber (Uni) 773
Ben Turley (Pros) 655
Kelvin Smith (WT) 639
Tom Andrews (Wood) 625
Nick Benton (Port) 610
Ben Pengelley (Adel) 564
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