Mick Molloy hit for six while filming cricket special

Mick Molloy padded up to reprise his cricket-playing glory days for Channel 7’s The Front Bar. He wasn’t expecting to be bowled over.

Mick Molloy at the crease filming The Front Bar cricket specials. Picture: Jake Nowakowski

His glory days as a “reasonably good schoolboy cricketer” long behind him, Mick Molloy has been bowled over while attempting heroics at the crease.

Molloy, co-host of Channel 7’s The Front Bar cricket specials, airing on Thursday, and December 3, padded up for practice on Tuesday, while reflecting on his favourite cricket memories.

As a boy, he watched ABC-TV’s one camera cricket coverage. “Every second over, you wouldn’t see the ball delivered, caught, or anything,” Molloy said. “It was primitive.”

He graduated to backyard cricket and “the rites of the older brother, putting a motorbike helmet on my younger brother, and bowling bouncers at him.”

And it doesn’t go to plan. Picture: Jake Nowakowski

Mick Molloy tries some heroics at the crease. Picture: Jake Nowakowski

‘I was a reasonably good schoolboy cricketer’. Picture: Jake Nowakowski

Molloy added: “I won’t bang on about it, but I was a reasonably good schoolboy cricketer. I won a bat for scoring 100 for my school.

“When I got older, I used to sleep in my cricket gear, so if I’d had a couple the night before, I could get out of bed and go straight to the game.”

But Molloy is a cricket traditionalist.

“I don’t want to sound like an old bastard, but I love test cricket,” he said. “I can’t believe we make all this time for one days and T20. For me, test cricket is the epic nature of the game. The other stuff is like UFC compared to heavyweight boxing.”

The Front Bar cricket specials, co-hosted by Molloy, Andy Maher and Andy Lee, will feature guests Merv Hughes and Tim Paine.

“It’s such a contrast of eras and styles,” Molloy said. “One can talk about facial hair, body shapes, drinking, and sledging, and the other can discuss ice baths and meetings.”

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