Eastern Cricket Association: Jim Phillips reaches 500 games for Blackburn North United
Blackburn North United’s Jim Phillips has just padded up for his 500th game of senior cricket, but playing alongside his son for a decade has been the highlight.
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On Saturday, Blackburn North United’s Jim Phillips padded up for his 500th game of senior cricket, joining longtime clubmate Michael Jansen in reaching the milestone.
“We’ve got pretty good records at the club, so I knew it was coming,” he laughed. “No-one at the club was going to let me forget.”
Saturday’s clash against St James Malvern Valley at the Basil St Reserve in ECA Holzer Shield was yet another Saturday in a 41-year innings at the club.
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“When I first started all the guys I was playing footy with were playing cricket as well,” he said. “As the years have gone by, all of them except Mick (Jansen) have dropped off. I just love it.”
And it seems cricket has returned that love, Phillips carding 15, 619 runs at an average of 34.70 with 80 half-centuries and 18 centuries and a best of 200 not out.
As a keeper, he grabbed 467 catches and 30 stumpings before knee injuries put an end to his time behind the stumps.
“When I first started cricket, I wasn’t that good with the bat,” Phillips said. “I decided I wanted to make more runs, so I had to work a bit harder and get a lot fitter.”
Beyond statistics, the greatest partnership Philips has forged is the one he shares with son Jamie.
Jamie suffers from autism but, boasting a fair deal of sporting prowess, has made all-abilities state teams in both basketball and cricket.
Playing in Blackburn North teams together has enabled Jim to play a big role in his son’s sporting journey.
“I’ve been playing with my son for the last 10 or 12 years,” he said. “It’s fantastic playing with him, it’s been good to play with him and help him along. Sport has been fantastic for him. Everybody should play sport. Everyone can be different but, when you get out on the field, everyone is the same.
“I’ve played in three premierships with him and we had a184-run partnership last year.”
Longtime teammate Jansen was full of praise for the club’s milestone man.
“Jim has played for so long at our club and continues to be a great team player and clubman,” he said. “His greatest strength is how hard he concentrates when he bats, he’s always either opened the batting or batted in the top four.
“Jim has always worked really hard at training and was usually the first player there, which promoted him from being a good batsmen to being the best batsmen our club has had, scoring well over 15,000 runs.
“The example he sets to his teammates when batting, particularly batting to the pace of the game when required, is always first class and has been a great role model for all his teammates.
“He was our wicketkeeper in our First XI for over 20 years and, although not the smoothest looking keeper, his results were always really good and he’s now closing in on 500 dismissals as a keeper and now slips fielder.
“Jim is a life member at Blackburn North United Cricket Club and someone that all his teammates enjoy playing with.”
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