Gerard Price Nomination for Life Membership 

Good Morning everyone, my name is Brett Howle and I wish to nominate Gerard Price for Life Membership of The Briars at Greenlees Limited. Consideration for Life Membership is generally evaluated against two main criteria;

 •          As a player and / or administrator of a sport

•          As a contributor to the function and wellbeing of the Club.

With either needing to be consistently evidenced over a substantial period of time There can be no doubt that Gerard has fulfilled both these criteria in overwhelming terms. On and off the field Gerard has been the most influential person involved with Burwood Briars cricket in the last 30 years. As a player Gerard first commenced playing senior cricket for Briars as a 16 year old during the 1980 / 81 season. Competing with his younger brother Paul in C grade, he won the premiership in his inaugural year. Before that time he played his junior cricket with the Croydon Briars side.  Injuries aside he has not missed a season or hardly a game since that time and so, is now competing in his 30th consecutive season.  During that time, to the commencement of the current season Gerard has achieved the following milestones;

Batting-1st Grade 4679 runs, 2nd Grade 1402 runs, 3rd Grade 394 runs, C&S 75 runs, u/24's 115 runs.

Total Runs= 6665 at 24.41

Bowling -1st Grade 600 wickets, 2nd Grade 262 wickets, 3rd Grade 28 wickets, C&S 3 wickets, u/24's 9 wickets.

Total Wickets=902 at 14.41

Fielding-1st Grade 165 catches, 2nd Grade 46 catches, 3rd Grade 12 catches, C&S 1 catch, u/24's 2 catches.

Total Catches=226 

He has won 7 premierships-Three 1st Grade, Three 2nd Grade, and One 3rd Grade

But for people like Gerard it not about the statistics. As a player Gerard continues to be an integral part of this seasons 2nd grade side as his ability with either bat or ball has allowed him to be a proven match winner, as demonstrated as recently as last weekend when he got his side over the line passing the opposition 8 wickets down with Gerard remaining not out.  Bowling wise although not a quick as he once was Gerard was never a tear away express bowler but instead relied on subtle variations with the ball and so has never lost the ability to get the better of most batsman he opposes. However, it now takes him till Thursday for the body to fully recover after a weekend of bowling and 1 chiropractor and 2 physios have retired early on the strength of Gerard’s almost weekly visits. Now known as bowling all rounder you always get a laugh from the latest generation of players when you tell them that Gerard played as batsman in his early days and never really bowled.

As a player, it would be fair to say that many of Gerard’s former and current teammates, together with his many opponents would summarise him as a fiercely skilful and competitive player but always playing within the spirit of the game, as cricket is known for. Due to Gerard’s on field performances over a lengthy period time in conjunction with his amiable personality Gerard is held in high esteem amongst all players that have worn the Briars cap as well as remaining well liked, and highly respected amongst the wider Shires cricket community. In addition to his role as a player, as an administrator Gerard has been Cricket Chairman for the last 23 years, commencing in 1986 / 87. Now there’s always been an unwritten rule that if you wish to stand down as a sports chairman that you need to find your own replacement.  Unfortunately for Gerard no one has been willing or stupid enough to take over the mantle as they could never do a better job than him. Since taking over as cricket chairman Burwood Briars Cricket has enjoyed an unprecedented level of success in terms of club championships and premierships. In recent times Gerard has moulded the club into the envy of every other Shires Cricket club due to its on field successes. Since 1980, the majority of which time has been under Gerard’s stewardship, club has won the following awards;

12 - club championships

5 - 1st grade premierships

7 - 2nd grade premierships

7 - 3rd grade premierships

6 - 4th grade premierships

3 - U24s premierships

1 - 5th grade premiership

Inaugural Spirit of Cricket Award

Numerous ground of the year awards

That’s some 41 awards, significantly ahead of the next club. As Cricket Chairman a significant proportion of Gerard’s time during the season is taken up in his role as Chairman of Selectors for 5 sides plus the under 24s team. This involves countless emails and phone calls to ensure that the club fields the most competitive side possible each round.  This of course is in addition to the administrative responsibilities of being Chairman and his commitment to training and competing as a current player.  In his remaining time Gerard runs a small business. I haven’t mentioned;

Organising and doing the covers religiously ever week

Organising ground hire and dealing with Canada Bay council

Buying equipment

Running Wednesday night training

Making sure fees come in and running the cricket budget.

Organising social functions during the year

Helping players out at rare judiciary appearances

Dealing with the Shires cricket subcommittee.

Going to management meetings to keep the club executive up to date.

Making sure afternoon tea turns up every week.

Making sure a good attendance back at the club after each gameOrganising end of season and annual presentations nights

For anyone that has played cricket understands there are many more things that need to be done but generally get taken for granted as they too would probably be done by Gerard. As you can tell, if Gerard has a fault it that’s he doesn’t delegate enough.  Even though this recognition is for Gerard it would be remiss to not mention the support & understanding or perhaps the tolerance and disbelief that he continues to play that Gerard receives from his wife Jane and 3 children.  Other contributions that Gerard has been involved for the club include;

•          As a Hockey player for numerous seasons

•          He did once play a game of rugby union for the club

•          Was Focus editor for several years in the early 1990’s

•          Was a Shires subcommittee delegate, 5 years

•          Captain of the Shires representative team for two seasons

 The majority of the Cricket's success has been enjoyed over the most recent 10 years with our club well in front of the next most successful competing club. This success can be significantly attributed to the dedication, perseverance and input of tremendous personal time performed by Gerard. The only reward Gerard has ever sought for his effort is for Briars cricket to be successful so he can be incredibly satisfied with his efforts.  To conclude, through his efforts over almost 3 decades now, Gerard is without peer for his contribution to cricket both on and off the field and how it has formed part of our clubs sporting success. As Gerard has simply shown over this period, actions speak louder than words, so it is only appropriate that he now be rewarded with the highest recognition that our club can bestow upon one if its most deserved members and that of course, is Life Membership.