It’s a mid-January WDCA match in the late-sixties, and the fast-medium left-armer has been toiling vainly, in uncomfortably-sweltering conditions.
His subtle away-swing is continually baffling the upper-order batsmen, who have been parrying outside off-stump, or surviving a myriad of confident LBW appeals… …….
It would test the resolve of any bowler, but, being the even-tempered lad that he is, he manages to keep his emotions intact.
Until……not once, but three times in a matter of two overs he entices a flummoxed right-hander to edge the swerving Kookaburra into the outstretched hands of the second slipper……only to see it pop out on each occasion……
After the third , he stands, exasperated in his follow-through, listens to the profuse apologies of the clumsy team-mate, hitches up his well-tailored cream strides with his elbows, looks to the heavens, and mutters:
“Dear, oh dear…..”
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Robin Kneebone was one of the finest country cricketers of his generation …… I’ve often wondered if he may have made it to the next level, considering that he was such an economical, probing, well-coordinated new-ball bowler.
He did, in fact, have a brief flirtation with District cricket, way back in 1962/63……….
As a result of their strong performances at Melbourne Country Week in 1962, Robin and his good mate John Welch were invited to attend pre-season practice with VCA club Fitzroy; mainly for experience, but with the expectation of possibly fitting in an odd game or two in the Seconds.
It gave them the opportunity to rub shoulders with internationals Jack Potter, Peter Allen and Ron Furlong, and State players Bob Bitmead, David Anderson and champion speedster Eddie Illingworth.
Fitzroy and St.Kilda had contested the District Final the previous season, and the re-match was scheduled for the the opening round, at the Brunswick Street Oval.
Robin recalls: “I was flicking through the ‘Sun’ newspaper in Bob Rose’s Sports Store one Friday morning and spotted the District sides…….“ I said: ‘Have a look at this ‘Welchy’ – we’re playing for Fitzroy Firsts tomorrow’…..”
Illingworth was out injured, and, in a surprise move, Kneebone was his replacement.
His resultant figures of 5/28 off 11 overs were greeted by the headlines in Monday’s paper……’Everton Tobacco-Grower rolls his own……..’
His 1/32 in the following game, against Melbourne at the Albert Ground, off a dozen overs, ‘on a wicket as flat as that table’, was also handy enough ….
“But then Eddie Illingworth returned, and I was dropped……..I had a couple of games in the Seconds……and was back playing in Wang by Christmas……”
“Anyway, not long after that, we were flat out on the farm, frantically picking some Tobacco that had ripened quickly……It was ‘all-hands-on-deck’ and my uncle pointed out to me: ‘Your future’s in Tobacco, son’…..you just accepted it back then…..”
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The Kneebone’s are a famous cricketing family.
Robin’s grandad, Eugene, was a legendary figure……Born 150-odd years ago, he was a renowned strongman, athlete and wrestler, who ultimately settled in Bowman’s Forest, grew Tobacco and imposed his love of cricket upon his growing brood of 16 kids.
There were eight girls, whose job was to serve the afternoon tea when the Kneebone’s played their WDCA home games on the Oval at their property, Brookfield.
Eugene would watch the eight boys – and a few of his sons-in-law – from the verandah of the family home, shouting encouragement and offering advice.
He had twirled down his off-spinners until his retirement, well into his mid-sixties, after which he became President of the WDCA in 1929. He held the position through the thirties, at a time when Wangaratta cricket was regarded among the best in country Victoria.
That was partly due to the presence of several of his sons……Eugene was proud of the boys and once proclaimed that : “I’ll back the Kneebone’s against any other family in Australia and, if I had to, I’d get out there and help them myself…….”
Probably the quickest of them was Robin’s dad, Ken, who had a rhythmic action which was described as ‘poetry in motion’. He captured 4/63 against the Englishmen at Benalla in 1936, including luminaries Maurice Leyland, Bob Wyatt, Hedley Verity and Laurie Fishlock,……
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One of Robin’s earliest cricket memories came during a match at the nearby property of Harold Williams:
“Most of the Kneebone’s were playing with Everton by then…..I was only a little tacker …..Grandad had a bit of temper and he and Harold Williams got into an argument. My uncle John happened to be walking alongside the barbed-wire fence when he heard Harold swearing at Grandad……I can still see Uncle John now: ‘Don’t you talk to my father like that’ …..It was on for young and old…..
“Not long after, Everton disbanded and Dad went down to play with Tarrawingee for a few years……..I loved watching him bowling……and hoping like hell someone wouldn’t turn up, so I could ‘sub’ for a while…..”
Robin and his cousin Ian, who also lived on the ‘Brookfield’ property, would practice for ages on the old family Oval.
“Lucerne was now being grown on it…..When it was cut we’d stack up the hay bales, about 8’ high behind the stumps, and on either side of the wicket……That was our practice net…….”
His cricket was just beginning to blossom when he came under the influence of Jock Thomlinson, a lanky left-arm spinner who could weave a web with the ball but was, just as importantly, the captain of Combined Schools.
“I ran Dad out in one of my early games,when we played Tarrawingee……I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry….” he says.
He celebrated the first of his eight WDCA premierships in his debut season (1960/61)……
“Magpies were hot favourites going into the 3-day Grand Final…….and more so when they knocked us over for 72….They virtually had the game stitched up when they replied with 153….”
“But we hit our straps in the second innings, and declared at 7/234, which gave us a lead of 150-odd on the last day…..All they had to do, really, was bat out time and the flag was theirs….”
“It’s amazing what a couple of wickets will do, though…..A bit of panic set in, and all of a sudden we were on a roll.”
“Old Jock was bowling from the northern end of the Showgrounds and the ex-Richmond footballer Ron McDonald, took a swing at him…..The ball seemed to hang in the air for half an hour….I’m thinking, if I catch this we’ll win the Grand Final…….I dropped it….I thought , God, I’ve cost us the game…..”
“I just reached my bowling mark at the other end, got the ball, turned around, and Jock’s there, eyeballing me…..He said: ‘Forget about it….Just knock him over….We’ll win this….”
“And that’s what happened……Next over I bowled him and things happened from there….We’ve come from nowhere to win the flag …”
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The 17 year-old Kneebone captured 10 wickets in the dramatic 14-run victory – 6/22 in the first innings and 4/41 in the second.
He transferred over to Wangaratta for a season, then his friendship with John Welch and several other mates led him to United.
“I was lucky to become part of a Golden Era…..If one of the big guns failed with the bat, someone else would chip in……We had virtually a representative attack………It was a terrific side….”
United completed the hat-trick, and were going for four-in-a-row when Magpies upset them in 1967/68.
“Controversy surrounds the game, as some observers claimed that the pitch had been watered on the final day….” The Chronicle reported.
Nevertheless, United went on to take out another hat-trick of flags, before a classy Peter Nicol century enabled Whorouly to topple them in ‘71/‘72.
On most of those big occasions Kneebone was a key player, concentrating on line and length and seeming to rise to the occasion when it mattered most.
In his final premiership year ( 1972/73 ) he took 5/44 in the Semi and, after Whorouly had started the Final brightly with an 81-run opening stand, ran through the Maroons to finish with 6/40.
He won his second WDCA Bowling Average that season ( he also finished runner-up once and third on three occasions ), but some of his most cherished memories are of North-East Cup and Country Week matches.
“There was always an intensity to those games, and they were great to be a part of – on and off the field…..”
“Little things come back to you, like the day we were in strife at Essendon…..A sudden downpour interrupted play, as it so often did down there, and, after a lengthy delay, a large contingent of players accompanied the umpires to inspect the wicket……”
“The Bendigo players were raring to go, as they’d snagged a couple of early wickets…….One of them prodded the pitch and pronounced : ‘Seems to be pretty hard underneath…’ Geoff Welch scoffed: ‘So’s the bottom of a swimming pool’….Soon after, the umpie said: ‘That’s it for the day, fellahs.’….“
“Hanging on for a draw that day helped us reach the Final.”
Of the nine trips that Robin made to Melbourne Country Week, Wangaratta played off in three Provincial Group Finals, and qualified for another, which was washed out……
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Similarly, he says, he thrived on the competitive edge of the 30-odd North-East Cup matches he played, against Euroa, Benalla, Albury and the like.
“One of my most satisfying afternoons came the year an old team-mate, Terry Hogan, left United to play in Benalla……We were due to meet Benalla in a Cup match and there was a bit of talk going on………The WDCA President, Clem Fisher, mentioned to me: ‘Word’s come through that the Hogan’s ( Norm, John and Terry) are looking forward to getting into you…..Terry reckons he’s going to carve you up….”
“I don’t know whether it was Clem’s way of stirring me up, but I’ve bowled Johnny, got Normie LBW, and when Terry’s come in he’s nicked one to Wayne Lamb at first slip, who got his hands to it, fumbled it, then caught it……He’s lasted about four balls and the Hogan’s have scored about 10 between them……”
Robin was one of Terry’s Victorian Country XI team-mates when the touring West Indies came to Wangaratta in 1969.
“When you play those games you realise what a very ordinary cricketer you are,” he says……”I played Seymour Nurse into form that day……I think he made centuries in the next couple of Tests…..”
“I remember going out to bat, taking guard, looking up, and there’s Lance Gibbs preparing to bowl….You’re that bloody nervous you can hardly hold the bat….”
He finally got to play with Tarrawingee at the tail-end of his career,when he lined up alongside his son Sean for a season…….A nine-year spell as a WDCA umpire concluded his active involvement in the game….
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Robin left school at 16 to begin what was expected to be a life-time’s work as a Tobacco Grower.
“I was 29 when Dad got crook and we had to sell our part of the farm……Luckily, there was a job going at Thompson’s Brickworks, where I stayed for a few years…….. Things started to get quiet in the Building game and, quite by chance, I called out to the Council Depot.”
“ ‘Poss’ Parkinson and John Zeuschner offered me a job as a Relief Sanitary Cart Driver……I graduated to driving the Council Rubbish Truck for 34 years……..Best job I’ve ever had….Loved it….”
Since retirement his most stressful physical activity has involved riding roughly 40km every second day with a group of 8-10 like-minded souls.
“We generally stop at Glenrowan for a Coffee and solve the problems of the world,” he says. “Fran ( his wife) is also a keen cyclist.”
Of course, his other hobby is growing Orchids, which take up a prominent position in the delicately-manicured Kneebone backyard, and have become somewhat of an obsession for a couple of decades.
“Why Orchids ?” I ask.
“I just like the look of ‘em,” replies the old quickie……..
ON REFLECTION 