Marcellin College cricket captain Hayden Kenny overcomes tumour, smashes records in grand final win

Two years ago he was meeting the Australian cricket team through the Make-A-Wish Foundation but now this Melbourne teen has set records of his own. Read his remarkable story.

Hayden Kenny with Steve Smith at the 2022 Boxing Day Test. Picture: Supplied.

A teenage cricket star who survived three rounds of chemotherapy and still carries a tumour which affects his batting has captained his school team to a memorable premiership, shattering records in the process.

Two years ago Marcellin College student Hayden Kenny met the Australian cricket team at the MCG as part of a Make-A-Wish Foundation experience as he was fighting a rare desmoid tumour in his wrist.

This week however, the 17-year-old hit a six to bring up the winning runs as his 1st XI team triumphed over Ivanhoe Grammar in the Associated Grammar Schools Victoria cricket grand final.

Kenny was pivotal in the grand final – as he had been all season – and struck 79 not out in pursuit of Ivanhoe Grammar’s 137.

He finished the school season with 578 runs – over 200 more than his closest challenger – and with an average of 96.33, as well as 23 wickets.

It was a feat simply unheard of.

Kenny’s season was the best all-round performance AGSV cricket had seen since the current format’s inception in 2008 as he toppled records set by the likes of Victorian and Melbourne Stars wicketkeeper Sam Harper.

Marcellin College's Hayden Kenny with the AGSV first XI trophy after his grand final heroics. Picture: Supplied.

TUMOUR STRUGGLE

For some time, a young Kenny had felt pain in his left wrist. It wasn’t until he fell on it when playing at school in year 3 that the tumour came to light.

“I’d always get a lot of pain in my wrist, I’d say to mum and dad, I don’t know what it is, but it’s killing me,” Kenny recalled.

“One day at school I fell over on my arm and I thought I’d broken it, it hurt that much, but we got an X-ray and it turned out it was a tumour.

“First up it was very challenging, I couldn’t even open jars or do day-to-day things.

“It’s a pretty rare condition, even when I first got diagnosed the doctors were unsure, they’d only had a couple of cases of it.”

The National Cancer Institute notes that there are only two to four reported cases of desmoid tumours per one million people each year.

They are non-cancerous, but Kenny was still made to endure three rounds of chemotherapy in a bid to combat it. The first round began in August of 2016 when Kenny was still in year 3 at school.

“I had a lot of anxiety about (chemotherapy), as soon as I’d walk into the hospital I’d feel sick and throw up,” Kenny said.

“I’d be an hour away from doing my treatment and I’d throw up just at the thought of being there.

“Every Wednesday after the chemotherapy was done I’d feel so sick, it made the week dreadful … knowing I’d be feeling ill, that was pretty hurtful.”

MEETING HIS HEROES

As he continued to battle the desmoid tumour, Kenny was afforded the opportunity of a lifetime when the Make-A-Wish Foundation granted him the opportunity to rub shoulders with Australia’s Test team.

“All of a sudden I was in the rooms on Boxing Day chatting to Steve Smith, that was an awesome experience … it made me see cricket from a whole different perspective,” Kenny said.

Some sage advice from champion off-spinner Nathan Lyon also proved valuable.

Hayden Kenny with Travis Head at the 2022 Boxing Day Test. Picture: Supplied.

“I spoke to Nathan Lyon for a little bit, before that I said I don’t really spin it I just chuck down rubbish, ever since I spoke to him my first game back at school I took a five-for and then I started bowling a lot,” Kenny said.

“He just gave me a bunch of tips and it helped, I’ve taken a fair few wickets since.”

THE TRIUMPH

The tumour, which affects Kenny’s left wrist, will never be removed, but he has made a “completely better” recovery than what the doctors expected since finishing his final round of chemotherapy in 2022.

“It’s been awesome, last time I had a check-up with the doctor he couldn’t believe what had happened, he couldn’t believe my left arm’s gotten so much stronger and the way I’ve been able to live without noticing it,” Kenny said.

“It’s headed in a completely better direction than they thought it would … they expected it to grow a little bit and impact me a lot more than it did.”

“They thought it would weaken my bones and separate them and whatnot, I’ve just managed to live with it … I’ve just gotten used to it I guess.”

Hayden Kenny bowling for Marcellin College in the AGSV first XI grand final. Picture: Supplied.

The tumour still affects his batting however, which makes his stunning school season with Marcellin all the more remarkable.

“When I bat, every time I swing, my left hand which has the tumour comes off the bat, so I’ve always copped heat for that,” Kenny said.

“People say ‘you can’t bat, why are you swinging with one hand?’ I never really say anything to them, it’s just the way I bat.

“I just go about my business and it always switches me back on when someone says something … I can’t help it, I just want to keep batting and hopefully I can do well.”

It would’ve made it all the more sweeter when he crunched a six to cap off his superb season and secure the AGSV premiership for Marcellin.

Hayden Kenny (middle) and his Marcellin College teammates celebrate winning the AGSV first XI title. Picture: Supplied.

“I called for a drink with four runs to win and I said to the bloke, when I hit this ball for six tell everyone to run out, I went for a big swing the next ball and got it over the line,” Kenny said.

“I’m pretty close with a lot of (the Ivanhoe crowd), I’d been copping a bit of slack all week and throughout the game so to hit the winning six into their crowd was amazing.

“It just got over the field so I was waiting, waiting and when it got over I sprinted to the team and threw my bat up in the air, all my mates came running out, it was pretty special.”

“Statistically it’s unheralded, but to have consistently performed the way he did … he took games away from opposition so often, it was just dominant, no one has come close to that performance,” said Marcellin coach John Diano.

“He’s suffered through a pretty intense process … I think it’s given him a different outlook, and a different way that he acts, he’s a special kid because of it.”

Originally published as Marcellin College cricket captain Hayden Kenny overcomes tumour, smashes records in grand final win