Mick and Peter Sweeney go back to where their cricket began
Cranbourne struggled last season but spirits are soaring at the DDCA club after it secured the return of its former juniors Mick and Peter Sweeney from Premier Cricket.
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The Sweeney brothers are back to where it all began.
Mick and Peter Sweeney left Cranbourne as young hopefuls almost two decades ago to try their luck at Dandenong in Premier Cricket.
Last night they returned to Cranny as experienced cricketers and to take up leadership roles, with Mick appointed senior coach and Peter assistant coach.
Opening bowler Marty Kelly will also serve as an assistant.
Regaining the brothers is a coup for Cranny, who battled in Turf 2 last season.
Both Sweeneys saw a lot of Premier First XI cricket.
Right-hand batsman and right-armer medium pacer Mick, 34, played 62 matches and had the distinction of scoring a century, against Northcote in 2013-14, 100 off 100 balls.
His last game in the firsts was in 2015-16, and since then he’s captained the Second XI.
Left-hand batsman and left-arm orthodox spinner Peter, 31, had 88 matches, and was part of the Dandenong team that defeated Frankston-Peninsula in the 2010-11 grand final, one of the most enthralling in Premier Cricket. It was a four-innings affair that left no finger nail unchewed.
Mick was 12th man in the match and has a vivid memory of standing at fourth slip to the bowling of Peter Siddle and Darren and James Pattinson.
Between the brothers they played 34 seasons for Dandenong.
“We’re very proud of our longevity. We’ve loved every minute of it,’’ Mick said today.
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Peter went to Dandenong first, playing Dowling Shield and continuing on.
Mick played Dowling for Melbourne, returned to Cranbourne briefly and then joined his brother at Dandy.
Both are life members.
Cranbourne finished sixth in an eight-team Turf 2 competition last season.
“The boys are set to be a driving force in a huge shift in the club, both on field and off, and fulfil our renewed effort in getting Cranbourne people back to the nest,’’ club president Chris Lamb said last night.
Mick said it was sad to leave Dandenong after such a long stay at the club.
He said he and his brother had made many lifelong friends at the Panthers.
He had intended to stay there, but Cranbourne committeeman Michael Randall got him thinking about a return.
“It’s the right time, for us and the club. It wasn’t hard in that respect, but I suppose it will hit home when pre-season starts and when the boys are rolling out for Round 1 and we’re not there with them,’’ Mick said.
“We’ve spent more than half our lives as Dandenong people and players, and when you spend that amount of time somewhere you have an emotional investment in the place.
“That said, we’ve always kept one eye on our old junior club. We’ve got some very old friends there and it’s exciting to have a go at getting the club back to where it should be and be part of something special.
“When he (Randall) put the call in it was hard not to listen to the great man.’’