Prahran great Steve Seymour appointed coach of Canterbury

Steve Seymour will see a few familiar faces when he lines up in the Eastern Cricket Association as playing coach of Canterbury.

New Canterbury coach Steve Seymour bowling for Prahran.

Andy Mills has been putting the question to Steve “Skinny’’ Seymour for a few years.

This time he got the answer he was seeking.

Canterbury captain Mills has enticed Prahran great Seymour, 35, to the Eastern Cricket Association, as coach of the Berries.

Seymour and Mills go back to when Seymour went to the UK to play club cricket in 2008.

Mills came to Melbourne with the intention of playing for one season but he settled in the city and now counts as a Canterbury stalwart.

Seymour most certainly stands as a mainstay of Prahran, having equalled the games record of Neil Schlittler (233) and served as captain of the First XI.

He retired from the top team ahead of last season, content to play in the Second XI.

Few displayed more delight five months later when Prahran broke a long premiership drought by defeating Dandenong in the grand final at the Junction Oval.

Steve Seymour counts as one of Prahran’s best all-rounders.

Seymour said he saw it as a “full stop’’ on his career at Prahran, which he joined at the age of the age of 17 from Johnson Park in the Ferntree Gully competition.

“Extremely hard to leave but I thought it was the right time,’’ he said.

“Good way to finish, with the club winning the flag.

“Even though I wasn’t part of the team it was a nice full stop and a good chance for me to go off and explore a bit of coaching elsewhere and keep playing for a couple of years.’’

He said his great mate Mills had been “working’’ on him for “numerous years’’ to make the move to Canterbury.

“He’s finally got me,’’ Seymour said.

He’ll see a few other familiar faces in the ECA: he played against Canterbury’s former Fitzroy Doncaster players Steve Duckworth and Chris Moore, his old Prahran teammate Nathan McNally is at Mont Albert and reigning premier East Doncaster has former Lions Peter Dickson and Matty Bremner.

“There are quite a few ex-Premier guys floating around. It will be a decent standard of cricket,’’ Seymour said.

It hasn’t been the easiest introduction to the club for Seymour. He oversaw one training session before the Covid lockdown.

“I wouldn’t think we’d be getting in too many before the season starts,’’ he said.

“It’s a challenge when you’re going in fresh.’’

The Berries made the grand final in 2019-20 and had a tie in the semi-final last season, falling out as the lowest-qualified team.

Seymour will add to the side with bat and ball, and add much experience to the line-up.

He made his debut for Prahran in 2003-04, and in 233 matches he cracked 4394 runs at 22.08 and captured 267 wickets at 27.53.

There were six centuries and a highest score of 160 not out, best bowling figures of 7-44 and 88 catches.

With Sam Coates he also holds two batting records, the highest partnerships for the seventh (234 runs) and eighth (222) wickets.

He took the Dav Whatmore Medal as champion First XI player three times and also landed the David Jukes Medal as club champion on three occasions.

“I’m definitely looking forward to it. It’s rejuvenated me a bit,’’ Seymour said of the switch of clubs.

“You don’t realise you are getting a bit stale until you move on and start something fresh.’’

As Seymour arrives from Prahran, young wicketkeeper Oliver Will goes the other way, joining Prahran.

Will made a century for the Second XI as an Under 16 player last season and has also had a sample of First XI cricket.

He’s also an accomplished hockey player.