Cricket legend Jeff Thomson bowled over at Punchbowl Boys High
Jeff Thomson, once the most feared bowler in the world, was overjoyed by the reception as he returned to Punchbowl Boys High School after more than half a century.
The Express
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Jeff Thomson tearing in to bowl was one of the scariest sights for batsmen in the ’70s and ’80s, the express deliveries sending many to the hospital and psychiatrists.
Thommo, who formed one of the world’s finest bowling combinations with Dennis Lillee, is also the biggest star to emerge from Punchbowl Boys High School.
On Thursday, the 69-year-old former Greenacre local — who used to hurl down thunderbolts at more than 160km/h — returned to Punchbowl Boys High School to unveil the house named in his honour.
Thomson finally made it to is former high school on Thursday to see the house dedicated to him along with other famous alumni, Garry Manuel (football), Len Pascoe (cricket) and the late Steve Folkes (rugby league).
“This is the first time I am back since I left school in 1968,” an emotional Thomson told The Express.
“I played sports in school with Garry (Manuel), Lennie (Pascoe) and Ken (Scully, the well known lawyer and Thomson’s team-mate) and we are still mates.
“Having the house named in your honour makes you feel you have achieved something and it’s good to see your name up there.
“Some kid might ask one day who is this bloke … I am happy.
“We did not do a lot scholastically but we learnt a lot from the school which we have carried on through our lives.”
SPORTING GREATS HONOURED BY PUNCHBOWL SCHOOL
Thomson spoke of the different jobs he did while playing cricket, including at construction sites and a bank, “which was held up twice”.
Principal Robert Patruno welcomed Thomson, Manuel and Scully during the school assembly, which was a nostalgic trip for the trio. A thunderous Viking clap greeted Thomson, who was moved by the gesture.
Thomson played 51 Tests and 50 ODIs for Australia between 1972-1985, finishing with 200 Test wickets and 55 ODI victims.
With Pascoe, Thomson were the fastest schoolboy bowlers at that time, while Manuel — a member of the Australian team at the 1974 football World Cup — was the captain and wicketkeeper.
Thomson said though he moved to Queensland to continue his first class career, he always missed his mates especially from school but would never cheer NSW for fear of upsetting his sons, “who are bigger than me”.
Thomson attended Condell Park Public School and said he chose Punchbowl Boys High because one of his elder brothers was already there and, “I didn’t want to attend a co-ed school”.
Speaking to students during the school assembly in his honour, he urged them to work hard and to make the most of the skills whether it was in studies or sports.
“When I first came, the cricket coach, who was the music teacher, didn’t know that I could play cricket,” Thomson recalled.
“He did not pick me for the team but I wanted to show him that I didn’t care, so I played cricket for my house and daily carried my cricketing gear home and back.
“I later played for the cricket team … I wanted to beat everybody, I hated losing — I should not say hate but I wanted to win.
“We won everything we played in those days — football, cricket — and what you learnt here, you used in your life.
Thomson slammed the sandpaper scandal which rocked Australian cricket in March 2018, saying this would have not happened in his time because they were taught to think for themselves.
He said then Australian skipper Steven Smith and his deputy David Warner did not think of the ramifications of what they were doing, specially in front of TV cameras, because they were used to others thinking for themselves.
Smith, Warner and Cameron Bancroft served one-year bans on playing for Australia as a result of being caught trying to cheat during a Test series against South Africa.
“Sandpapergate was embarrassing. This is a good example of people not being make their own decisions … when they had to do it, they buggered it up,” Thomson said.
“I may sound like an old guy but none of this stuff happened in our day … one of our brothers would have given us a good kick up the backside.”
MORE REWARDS IN SOLVING PROBLEMS
Scully and Manuel also spoke to the students, with Scully telling them that teachers in his day wanted them to succeed.
“They said we could be whatever we wanted to be,” said Scully, saying it was always good to give back to his old school.