For Greg Connors, cricket in Shepparton was more than just fun, it was the foundation for where his career on and off the field would take him.
Falling in love with the sport from a young age, Connors would get his first taste of playing at an A-grade level by substitute fielding for his father’s Kyabram side.
Playing in the odd game as a fresh faced 12-year-old, the talent’s career would blossom upon a move to St Colman’s, Shepparton.
“At the 15-year-old mark I started to take it a bit more seriously and got into the Victorian schools side,” Connors said.
“Then I went to Brisbane as a 16-year-old representing the Victorian under-19s.”
A fast bowler, Connors moved from school cricket to playing for Shepparton.
Representing his state at a youth level in 1980 and playing for Victoria Country against Queensland at Deakin Reserve in 1982 and 1983, the youngster's bowling stocks continued to rise.
“In 1982 I managed to make the Australian under-19 side to tour England,” he said.
“So I toured England, played over there for seven weeks and came back.”
Departing Shepparton in 1983, Connors moved to Melbourne at 19.
Playing for Melbourne Cricket Club from 1983-86 and Fitzroy-Doncaster from 1986-90 Connors was involved in Victoria’s development squad, however, the talented quick was unable to break into the senior Victorian side.
“Coming back from England I had some stress fractures in my back which I had to negotiate and try and play on with, but that’s not the excuse,” he said.
“My excuse really was at the time I went to university and I didn’t give it the time it needed to play at any higher level than what I was already.”
Soon reaching a crossroads on where to next take his career, Connors would make the move to the Northern Territory in 1990.
This move would prove to be a successful one for Connors on and off the field, with the bowler representing and captaining Northern Territory on a number of occasions ― including matches against Pakistan, South Australia and Victoria.
“One of the friends I had said ‘come up and play cricket in Darwin, it’s great, it’s better than going to England because you’re not that far away from home and it’s cheaper’, so I came here and the rest is history,” he said.
“I bump into so many people here that say they came here for a six-week holiday and they never left, so I was a bit like that.
“I played a season here for Darwin Cricket Club and then travelled back down to Melbourne to play a season there and it didn’t feel like home, so I came back again.”
While he did return to Shepparton to play one season for Old Students, his head was elsewhere at the time.
“That was a 25-year-old trying to work out whether I was doing the right thing going to Darwin or should I be going to England or should I still be back in Melbourne and trying to stay close to the state squad,” he said.
“I played another season in Darwin and then played a season with West Torrens in Adelaide, then I went back to Darwin and stayed and have been there ever since.
“From 1990-2022 I’ve spent more time in the NT than Victoria.”
A quick, fit and tenacious bowler, Connors credited his time in Shepparton with building his cricket skills.
“I was a young fast bowler, so I looked up to other fast bowlers,” he said.
“Peter Whitelock and Peter Wallace when he was at Fitzroy ― he gave me some really sage advice at the time, him and ‘Flower’ (Whitelock) were people I looked up to coming through, great bowlers and great people.
“They were very happy to provide advice to any young kids coming through and they were helpful to me.
“The era I grew up in was a really fun era to play in, but as a young cricketer coming through it was all a bit of a whirlwind.
“For me the memories are these glimpses of periods in time, playing country week in Bendigo, playing country week in Melbourne, they’re glimpses that blend in to a whole raft of other memories whether it’s in Shepparton or somewhere else.”