Cricketer, runner, vegan, mercenary and now POW: what we know about Oscar Jenkins
The Melbourne cricketer was an ‘exceptionally talented’ and beloved coach with a ‘heart of gold’ who played in senior men’s competitions before heading to the frontline in Ukraine - unbeknowst by his teammates.
A Melbourne man taken prisoner by Russian troops has been described as an exceptional man with a “heart of gold” who is also a talented cricketer.
Before Oscar Jenkins, 32, was captured by Russian soldiers at the frontline in the Donbas region of Ukraine, he was a senior cricketer and coach at the Toorak-Prahran Cricket Club, competing in premier-level competitions across Victoria.
Speaking to The Australian, Toorak-Prahran Cricket Club president Neil Gumley, who has known Mr Jenkins for 20 years, said he was shocked to see the news on Monday that his “beloved teammate” had been captured by Russia.
Mr Gumley said he last spoke to Mr Jenkins in February 2024 at a 10-year club reunion and there was no suggestion he was heading to a warzone.
“He is a wonderful cricket player and has a heart of gold,” Mr Gumley said. “He was an exceptional cricket talent and a loved teammate. I played in the premiership with him.
“Oscar coached juniors and is just the type of person you want at the cricket club.”
He said Mr Jenkins still had members of his family actively involved in the club. “I knew his family quite well as I coached them as juniors. He still has nieces and nephews that play at the club, lovely family,” he said.
In November 2022, Mr Jenkins’s father, Scott, died. He was also a member of the Toorak-Prahran club.
Jenkins’ former teammate Maurice Clayton said he played cricket with the prisoner for more than a decade in junior and senior games.
“He was always such a great guy around the club and would help out with the junior program,” Mr Clayton told The Australian.
“He was exceptionally talented both with the bat and ball. His family are amazing people who have been around the club for a number of years.
Mr Clayton said he was never made aware of his decision to go to Ukraine, but only found out through social media when he had posted pictures Facebook.
“He popped by the cricket club earlier in the year when he was back in Melbourne from China (teaching) and seemed happy. Everyone is shocked by what is happening at the moment and just hope that he is released to safety.”
A woman believed to be Mr Jenkins’ mother declined to comment when approached by The Australian outside her home in Caulfield North on Monday afternoon.
It’s understood the DFAT had urged family members not to make any public comments while the situation unfolds.
According to his LinkedIn profile, Mr Jenkins graduated from Melbourne Grammar School in 2010, before studying at Monash University and then moving to China in 2015 where he began a career working at the Country Garden Group property development company based in Guangdong, South China. The company ranked 206th in the Fortune Global 500 list of 2023.
His LinkedIn profile also says he had worked as a lecturer at the Tianjin University since October 2017.
A school friend, speaking with The Herald Sun, said Mr Jenkins had “lost touch” with his Australian friends after he moved to China. “He went off to China to teach a few years ago, and after that lost touch with a lot of his Australian mates,” the friend said.
Footage of Mr Jenkins, with his hands tied, was circulated on social media platforms on Sunday.
The footage shows him being slapped across the face by a man speaking in Russian.
In the video, Mr Jenkins said he was a biology teacher before later admitting to being paid to fight with Ukrainian currency.
The circumstances of Mr Jenkins’s involvement in the conflict remain unclear, including how long he has been fighting for Ukraine.
A YouTube video uploaded by Mr Jenkins in 2023 titled “I will force Chinese people to be vegan” states he only speaks with his mother.
A passionate vegan, Mr Jenkins was wearing a blue Ghostbusters shirt that appears to depict a ban on cow milk products with Chinese writing.
“The only people who are friends with me, anyway, are vegans,” he said. “If you’re not vegan, and you’re my friend, then you’re going to be vegan soon, or we’re going to fight ... and my Mum, I’m still talking to my Mum.
“Otherwise, it’s quite limited. There’s some help from the outside from (the) family wanting to do stuff.
“I’m going to wear my shirt outside, everyone’s going to think I’m a freak more than I already am ... no one is going to f..king give me a wink and a nod.
“I promise there won’t be any tables set up with banners saying talk to me, I’m a vegan but I can’t make any other promises.”
Mr Jenkins’s Instagram profile attracted dozens of negative comments from pro-Russian supporters, including torture and death threats.
His school friend said the Melbourne Grammar alumni community was thinking of the Jenkins family, especially with his capture by Russian forces so close to Christmas. “We all just hope he can get to safety as soon as possible,” he said.
At least seven Australians have been killed fighting in Ukraine since the Russian invasion in 2022.
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