Ballarat cricketer Nicholas Pantzidis walks on 199 in final round of season
Playing his 100th game and with friends and family watching on, Nicholas Pantzidis had reached 199 not out when he did the unthinkable. See one of the cricket highlights of the year.
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A Victorian country cricketer has no regrets about giving himself out and walking off the ground, one run shy of a double century.
Elaine captain Nicholas Pantzidis looked set to reach 200 for the second time in his career when his classy gesture occurred in the Ballarat Cricket Association on Saturday.
Pantzidis, who was celebrating his 100th game for the club, was given not out by the umpire off the bowling of Ruben Walker-Corbet after a delivery down the leg side with Napoleons Sebastopol opponents appealing for caught behind.
To the amazement of the crowd, with one spectator yelling “it’s not out”, the skipper walked off the ground.
Opposition players ran from across Elaine Recreation Reserve to congratulate Pantzidis on his innings and the act of sportsmanship.
“When I was a kid, I was pretty naive and wouldn’t walk,” he said.
“This year, I’ve not gone into games where I’ve been like I’ll walk if I edge it, but there’s been a couple of clear outs that is the same as hitting to cover.
“I’m not going to walk for the sake of walking but if I know it is 100 per cent out and there’s no other way it could be anything else, I’m happy to walk.
“A lot of people were saying to me why didn’t you stay out but you are almost cheating yourself to be honest.”
It was a massive day for Pantzidis as he brought up the special milestone of scoring 3000 runs for Elaine.
He combined with Damon Kierce (197) in a 322-run which helped Elaine reach 6-517 at stumps.
“My family were saying to me it was a fairytale game to be honest,” Pantzidis said.
“It had it all, 100 games, the milestone runs and walking off at 199.”
He along with others were influential in the club returning to playing after being in recess for a few years during Covid.
It’s now been two seasons since the club returned, which made the milestone more memorable.
“There’s a couple of mates there that I’ve been playing with since I was 11,” he said.
“It’s awesome to be at the club and have the club running, getting the facilities better slowly but surely.”
Originally published as Ballarat cricketer Nicholas Pantzidis walks on 199 in final round of season
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