Eastern Cricket Association: Tim Wright racks up his 300th senior game for Mont Albert
Tim Wright raises his bat for 300 tomorrow, but the Mont Albert opener is a bit embarrassed by all the attention.
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When Tim Wright takes to Mont Albert Reserve for Mont’s Dunstan Shield clash with Heathmont tomorrow, he’ll raise his bat for an unrivalled triple-century.
As he inks game No.300 into the history books, the opening bat stands as one the greats of Mont Albert cricket and among the very finest in the Eastern Cricket Association.
But ever the team man, he’s a bit red-faced about all the fuss.
“I didn’t even know about it to be honest,” he said. “Then just before Christmas, someone said ‘your next match is your 300th’.
“I’m a bit embarrassed by it really.
“It’s a great reflection on the club’s culture. It’s a great place to be and there’s great development. The people around the club make it what it is.”
Wright started at the club as a junior in the under-12s in 1990 but was soon playing senior cricket alongside his father, Jack, as a 13 year old. By the age of 16, he’d become a regular in the First XI.
Few can better the 41 year old’s record.
He’s made 8191 runs with nine centuries, the most in the club’s history, and 44 half-centuries at an average of 30 with a highest score of 144. When thrown the ball he’s nabbed 62 wickets at an average of 20.77 with the best figures of 6-27.
Wright is a four-time Dunstan Shield premiership player, carrying his bat in successful run chases in 2009-10 (as captain) and in 2017-18.
A six-time winner of the First XI batting averages, First XI captain from 2008-09 until 2011-12, a Millard Medal (best player in the Dunstan Shield grand final), a Dunstan Medal (best player in Dunstan Shield), a member of the Dunstan Shield team of the year on multiple occasions and named in the Dunstan Shield team of the decade (2000-2009), Wright’s CV is one to envy.
A two-time winner of the Garnie-King award (Mont Albert’s champion First XI player), he was awarded life membership of the club in 2011-12
“The senior premierships stand out as a pinnacle,” he said. “And I’d like to play in another one before I finish.”
While many at his career stage would be content to drop down the order of even the grades and add some late-career polish to their stats, Wright still gets out and takes on the new ball at the top of the order against some of the most lethal attacks in suburban cricket.
“The new ball comes off the bat a bit quicker,” he laughed. “If I batted down the order I’d be struggling to get it off the square these days.”
Wright’s milestone celebrations will coincide with the 10-year reunion of Mont Albert’s 2009-10 Dunstan Shield premiership-winning side.