Prahran all-rounder Steve Seymour retires from Premier Cricket

The True Blues stalwart retires on 233 matches and a share of the club-games record with former teammate Neil Schlittler.

Steve Seymour letting one fly for Prahran in last season’s final against St Kilda.

Neil Schlittler and Steve Seymour are great mates and were long-time teammates at Prahran.

Their connection will now extend to the record books at the Premier club.

Seymour, soon to turn 35, joined his former captain on 233 matches when he played in the True Blues’ quarter-final against St Kilda last season.

He was expected to assume the games record from Schlittler in this Saturday’s opening round.

But the all-rounder known as “Skinny’’ has decided to retire from the First XI, frustrated his body can longer comply with his brain’s commands.

“I’ve stepped away from first-team cricket as of Monday,’’ the affable Seymour said this afternoon.

“Unfortunately the time has come for me to finish. I’m longer at the standard I’d like to be at.

Steve Seymour punishes a short ball in a one-dayer against Footscray.

“It’s quite frustrating when you can’t do what you want to do. Physically I can’t really bowl any more and in the field I’m moving like a semi-trailer. I still plan on playing some second-team stuff if they want me to, help out (skipper) Nick Morrey if I can, but, yeah, Neil and I will finish as equal games record-holders.’’

He said that would be “nice’’ given their friendship and that he played some of his best cricket under Schlittler, known as the “Hurry Master’’.

He said Schlittler had had a “huge’’ influence on his career.

Their mothers will doubtless be pleased too: Rosemary Schlittler and Christine Seymour are close, and, like their offspring, are great servants of the club.

Seymour said he was well aware of the record, but playing one more match would make no difference to him.

Ultimately, he said, he had slowed up and he didn’t want to stand in the way of younger players who were the future of Prahran.

“I’m quite happy I’ve come to the conclusion now,’’ Seymour said. “It’s quite hard when you’re trying to eke out as much as you can, and you end up not enjoying it as much because you’re battling away. I’m happy that my last game was a final last season. Even though we lost it was still a final.’’

Steve Seymour nabbed 267 wickets for Prahran.

He added: “I would have felt a bit bad taking the record off him (Schlittler). In a way I would have liked to get one game ahead of him just so I had it over him for the rest of my life! But it will be nice to share it with him – well, until someone is silly enough to play enough cricket to beat us.

“To think the club’s 150 years old and for me to be able to say I’ve played the most number of firsts games is unbelievable really. It’s great Neil and I can both say it.’’

He said he was pleased with his achievements and could not have imagined he would play so much cricket for Prahran when he joined it at the age of 17 from Johnson Park in the Ferntree Gully competition.

Seymour made his debut in 2003-04, and his 233 matches brought him 4394 runs at 22.08 and 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.

There is more: he and another former captain, Sam Coates, have the record for the seventh (234 runs) and eighth (222) wicket partnerships; he won the Dav Whatmore Medal as champion First XI player three times; and he took the David Jukes Medal as club champion on three occasions.

Neil “Hurry Master’’ Schlittler on the attack for Prahran.

Last season he added the First XI bowling to his list of awards. He can say he went out contributing, not loitering.

Seymour also captained the club for two seasons from 2015-16.

When Prahran hall-of-famer and former Test man Julien Wiener returned to the True Blues as coach two years ago, he and Seymour talked about his position.

Seymour thought he was close to the finish line, but Wiener encouraged him to go on.

“I’ll be forever grateful ‘Jules’ said, ‘No, we still want you and still see a role for you’,’’ he said.

“To have played two more years since then has been a bit of a bonus. Been two of the funnest years I’ve played. The young guys coming through make you feel younger in a way. But not any more. The time’s right to move on.’’