Travis Dean set to make his 200th Premier Cricket appearance for Footscray
Hughes, Eastwood, Russ, Bright, Dean. He’s among the best Footscray has produced but as he reaches 200 matches, Travis Dean has only one goal in mind.
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Travis Dean didn’t know Saturday will be his 200th Premier Cricket match for Footscray.
He’s not the sort to keep track of personal milestones.
There are, of course, quite a few to keep track of.
The clash with Prahran at Merv Hughes Oval will see him become just the sixth player to break the 200-game barrier in Footscray history.
He’s currently the fifth highest run-scorer in club history, just shy of another milestone – 6000 Premier Cricket runs – and also has 43 wickets and 66 catches to his name.
All that while spending the better part of a decade playing for Victoria, amassing a further 3609 run in 72 First Class matches.
Dean became the first player in Sheffield Shield history to hit two centuries in his debut match, going on to help Victoria win a hat-trick of Shield titles and then captaining the 2018-19 triumph.
So what does 200 games for his beloved club mean?
“I didn’t even know to be honest, it’s longevity more than anything,” Dean said.
“It’s great to play 200 games of Premier Cricket but it just means I’m closer to the end than the start – it’s just a number.
“Playing finals is more important than me playing a certainly amount of games or making a certain amount of runs.
“What I’m most proud of its when we have good seasons, like I said we’ve only won two premierships so if I could somehow get us to a third that would be my biggest achievement.”
It’s then no surprise Dean’s standout achievement in red, white and blue is the drought-breaking 2013–14 premiership.
Coming to the wicket at 1-1, the then 22-year-old scored what remains his highest Premier Cricket score, 138, to inspire the Bulldogs to a dominant win over Essendon.
And he now hopes he can foster the next generation of Bulldogs premiership players.
“Winning the premiership was exceptional, you appreciate it more the older you get,” Dean said.
“The first few years were pretty lean, with a young group, which reminds me of a similar time to now, what we’re going through.
“Myself and Kighty (Dylan Kight), Dean Russ was our mentor and it’s been passed on to us.
“I don’t know how long I’ve got left but it’s good to try and pass on as much knowledge as possible.
“With these new kids coming through, it’s exciting to see them coming through junior pathways and play First XI cricket and perform.
“At the back end of my career, if we’re not winning games, hopefully those guys performing long after I’m gone will give us a flow on affect of success.”
Dean came through at Werribee and made his Premier debut in 2008.
He’s gone on to score eight centuries and 37 fifties for Footscray.
He’s been at the top of the order as Victoria produced a string of quality pacemen.
While he played alongside the likes of James Pattinson, Scott Boland, Peter Siddle and Clint McKay, he rated the likes of James Nanopoulos and Adam Dale as the hardest bowlers he’s had to face.
“It was always difficult when state players came back but you talk about (James) Nanopoulos, he’s taken 400 wickets,” Dean said.
“When I started, I started pretty slow in Premier Cricket, Brett Harrop (Melbourne Uni) was as quick as any one I’d faced at that stage.
“That was a new challenge, and facing Adam Dale – he was a bit older at that stage, but the smarts and skill he had.
“I work with James Miller now, he and (Darren) Groves at Frankston, there’s good players everywhere – I’ve probably missed 20 or 30 that have had the wood over me.”
Having come through the pathway with Dylan Kight, Dean rates him as one of his favourite teammates, along with Dean Russ, Hamish Winter-Irving and Michael Kelly.
That connection was what brought him back to Footscray whenever he had a chance between state duties.
“That was the way I was brought up, it’s my club,” he said.
“It helped a lot that we had a good bunch of young guys my age, Dean Russ, Dylan Kight, Hamish Winter-Irving, Michael Kelly, we got a long really well off the field.
“When I had a week off (state duties), I’d just hang up with the boys and get away from the hustle and bustle of First Class cricket.
“I enjoyed coming back Tuesday and Thursday, playing games here and there, they gave a lot to me so it was good to play as often as I could.”
Dean is realistic when it comes to his time in the game.
However, he’s determined to set up his young teammates for the future.
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He’s confident the likes of Dylan Brasher, Aiman Nadeem, Mitch Jamieson, Max Birthisel, Bailey Toseland and Josh Pace are the next group of Footscray First Class representatives or premiership players.
“We’ll take it year-by-year, at the moment I’m still enjoying it,” he said.
“Life after cricket could be around the corner but at the moment I’m enjoying playing with young, talented players.
“The biggest thing I can do is give back to the young guys and help set the club up for another decade.”
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