FORMER Australian cricketer Craig McDermott was known for his precise approach to fast bowling - but who knew that on one occasion this precision extended to his batting?
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
McDermott, the current Australian bowling coach, was guest of honour at a sportsman's lunch hosted by Cricket Southern Lakes at Toronto Workers Club on Friday.
Club stalwart and former Test leg-spinner Robert Holland told the audience a little-known anecdote about McDermott's batting which emerged on Australia's Ashes tour of 1985.
Holland said that he, McDermott, and quick Dave Gilbert organised a competition among the tailenders to see who could amass the most runs on tour.
"In the game against Leicestershire, Billy [McDermott] came in and made 50 not out, so all bets were off," Holland said.
"During that innings he hit a towering six over long-on, right out of the ground, and into a landscaped garden area."
After the day's play, McDermott heard some locals describing the six as the biggest they'd ever seen at the ground.
Speculation mounted among the players about just how far the ball had flown, and exactly where it had landed.
The next thing the Aussies knew McDermott had set about measuring the shot, Holland said.
"He went down to the curator and got a tape and went out to the middle and measured it out," he said.
The verdict?
"Billy said it was 105 metres," Holland said.
McDermott entertained the lunchtime audience in an insightful chat with MC and Southern Lakes old boy Paul Turton.
McDermott told of his ability to bowl fast from a young age, and to terrorise junior batsmen on lively synthetic wickets.
He later found himself on the receiving end from the great West Indian fast bowlers of the 1980s.
The West Indian quicks, however, were generous with their bowling advice and encouragement for the young Australian.
Among the most helpful was the late Malcolm Marshall, McDermott said.