Graeme Rummans holds his nerves — and the Val Holten Medal in Sub-District cricket
Even at the age of 43 the champion Caulfield batsman and former NSW and Victorian player says he gets nervous before he goes out to bat.
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Even after all those matches …
Even after all those runs …
Even at the age of 43 …
Graeme Rummans still gets nervous before a game and before he goes out to bat.
“The challenge of getting a bit older, starting to doubt you can still play at a decent level, doubt you can compete, that’s there,’’ the champion Caulfield batsman was saying today.
“I still feel the nerves, have that self-doubt on the morning of a match, get really nervous.
“It’s strange, isn’t it? You would think it would go away. But I kind of like that feeling, you know? To have a bit of anxiety about the day. Because of the later starts in Subbies there’s more time to think about it.
“But I still love it, still love seeing the team do well and seeing the improvement and trying to win competitions.’’
With the coronavirus pandemic cutting short the season, Caulfield was denied the chance to win last season’s competition in the VSDCA north-south section.
But some consolation came when Rummans won the Subbies’ prestigious Val Holten Medal, by two votes from Williamstown’s Brent McMinn.
In doing so he joined Warren Whiteside, Andrew Wildsmith, Adam Dale, Robbie Bartlett and Mick Allen as Victorian Premier Cricket Ryder Medal winners to go on to clinch the Holten Medal (formerly the Hatch) in Sub-District cricket.
Like Whiteside, Rummans won three Ryders, sharing it with Allen in 2005-06.
Towards the end of last season the left-hander put himself in a position to go past Allen’s VSDCA run aggregate record of 957, but the cancellation of the grand final against Oakleigh left him to settle on 883 runs at an average of 80.3, with three centuries and six half-centuries.
It was a record Caulfield run tally.
Rummans joined the Fielders after a distinguished career at St Kilda and in Sydney Grade Cricket. In both competitions his performances earned him first-class matches, 19 for NSW and 17 for Victoria.
He’s glad he followed his great mate and former Saints teammate Adam Warren to Caulfield.
“Great club and great people, and it helps to play good cricket when you’re surrounded by good people,’’ he said.
Rummans hit 543 runs in his first season at Caulfield, 607 in his second and 743 in his third. Then came last season’s golden summer. In other words, at a time when it would be understandable if his output was fading, it’s rising.
Rummans said it took a while to adjust to slower wickets in the Subbies.
“They’re a little bit more inconsistent. You probably never feel you’re 100 per cent in on some of the wickets – you feel you could get out any ball – whereas at the Junction the wicket is really good and if you get in, it’s almost like you can only get yourself out,’’ he said.
“That’s been a challenge, the different wickets. I quite enjoy that side of it. Some turn more, some are a bit lower and slower. The grounds are bigger too. At Caulfield you’ve got to run them, which is a bit hard to take once you’re over 40.’’
Rummans was surprised by his victory: he thought Brent McMinn would win.
“He had a good season and they hardly lost a game,’’ he said.
VSDCA president Phil O’Meara said Rummans was a fine cricketer and an outstanding name to have on the roll-call of medal winners.
“He still looks a champion every time I watch him bat. He’s fantastic,’’ O’Meara said.
“He’s got the ability to bat on every wicket. He’s got the patience. He sums up the game so well. He doesn’t try to hit everything. He lets good balls go and knows what to play, and when he plays the shot he puts the ball a metre away from every fielder. He does it time and time again. When you’re having a good day you can do it but most batsmen can’t do it day in, day out. He does it all the time.’’