To celebrate its centenary, Cricket Shepparton will be immortalising its greats by selecting a Team of the Century at an event in November.
The shortlist — consisting of 30 members — recognises those past and present that have had a large impact on the game of cricket both in the region and beyond.
In the lead-up to the ceremony, The News will run special feature pieces on all 30 players, before the release of a commemorative magazine on November 25.
For most Australian kids, the backyard is where the love and passion for cricket begins.
And for Cricket Shepparton legend Chris Keady, those are his earliest memories of falling in love with the summer sport.
Steaming in with tennis ball in hand, no doubt covered on one side with electrical tape, or facing up with a cherry-covered bat from yesteryear — this is where arguably one of the finest cricketers to have graced the turf wickets in the Goulburn Valley began his craft.
And it all began outside of Shepparton on a farm at Karramomus.
Keady, the youngest of seven children, gravitated to the great game of cricket from those countless hours in the backyard.
With five older brothers, the youngest Keady was made to learn the tricks of the trade the hard way.
“There was six of us boys and I was the youngest. We all loved sport and playing cricket in the backyard. I copped my fair share of bruises,” Keady said with a laugh.
“It was a good way to grow up though.
“From there I started playing down in the old Euroa Cricket Association when I was about nine or 10 in the under-14s. A family friend of ours, Peter Kerr, was heavily involved at Karra and he talked Mum into bringing me down to the club. And I’ve been there ever since.”
During his teenage years Keady flourished with bat and ball and enjoyed early premiership success with Karramomus’ junior sides.
It was in those sides — playing with his “close mates” — where he and Paul Trevaskis formed a lifelong friendship.
It’s no surprise then that the tight-knit playing contingent would advance through the grades together and enjoy success at the highest level in Cricket Shepparton.
“It was a really fun time playing back then. We had a great bunch of blokes,” Keady said.
“Back then Karra was pretty ordinary and didn’t have a lot of success. But by the late 90s there was about five or six of us aged 18-19 and then we had the injection of three talented players which helped us go to the next step.”
It was during this period that a late-teenaged Keady emerged as the strike bowler and damaging middle-order bat that would have many consider him as one of the best cricket talents produced in the GV.
“I was a late developer, my bowling didn’t really come along until I was about 19,” Keady said.
“I always loved bowling fast; I was more of a seam bowler off the wicket before my action changed and then I relied on swing.
“With my batting it wasn’t until I got bigger that I was able to attack the bowler. If I could score quickly then I was happy, but looking back I should have put a higher price on my wicket.”
Karramomus broke its 12-year premiership hoodoo in the same year that Keady stamped his name on the competition with the first of his Lightfoot Medal hauls in 1996-97.
A member of the odd group of cricketers who bowl right-arm and wield the willow left-handed, Keady stands alone when it comes to winners of Cricket Shepparton’s prestigious Lightfoot Medal.
The Bloods legend collected the Haisman Shield best-and-fairest award an incredible and record-setting six times.
Even more jaw-dropping is the fact Keady’s individual success spans a period of 15 years — from his first Lightfoot win in 1997 to his sixth in 2012.
Some of his personal highlights consist of career-best match figures of 7-36 in 2012-13, an 11-wicket match haul in the same season, six centuries and a high-score of 149 not-out in a Twenty20 match.
The skilful all-rounder amassed more than 450 career wickets and more than 5900 runs with the bat across all grades.
And his decades-long dominance at the top level was littered with team success.
Four years after his first Haisman Shield title, Keady captained the Bloods to a memorable three-peat from 2000-01 to 2002-03.
The emergence of rivals Central Park-St Brendan’s had the Haisman Shield reside at Deakin Reseve for the remainder of the decade until 2011-12.
Keady, now holding a wealth of experience and knowledge, again captained Karramomus to back-to-back triumphs.
“All the premierships are memorable in their own ways, it’s hard to single one out,” Keady said as he reflected on the glory years.
“The first one when I was 20 came over Mooroopna and we all contributed here and there, but Evan Behrens dominated. It was a massive time for the club.
“And then the five that I captained are all special. It was a real buzz to win those close ones over Numurkah and then those last two over Central Park-St Brendan’s are memorable.
“It’s nice to look back and know we were the one team that could challenge them. I guess someone had to stop them.”
Those matches against the Tigers are fond memories for Keady.
Not just the wins, but also the individual battles against gun opponents.
The likes of Rohan Larkin, Sam Ahmet, Peter Holland and Glenn Hart spring to mind when it comes to opponents he loved to play against the most.
His countless forays for Victoria Country had him play with cricketers he admired in Jamie Murphy and Brad Campbell.
The Bendigo Country Week stints representing Cricket Shepparton were Keady’s “most enjoyable matches” outside of Karramomus glory.
His extensive cricket CV, which could span multiple novels, culminates in his selection in the 30-player Team of the Century shortlist.
“It’s a massive honour. I’m really proud to be in the same company as some of the all-time greats,” he said.
“It makes you sit back and reminisce about all the fun you had along the journey.”