AS WHIPPER-snappers, Barry Grant and his twin brother, Darren, would stay in their whites on Saturdays, in the hope someone wouldn't show up in B-grade so they could have an afternoon game of cricket as well.
The passion has remained, with Barry a long-time captain of the Wangaratta Magpies and Darren captaining the second XI.
With 26 career centuries, a fistful of premierships and 300-plus A-grade games, Barry Grant has had a particularly illustrious country career.
"I've stood down though, this year," he said.
"Paul Smithwick has come across from Rovers to lead us.
" I've done it (the captaincy) in the last few years because no one else has been keen.
"We have a heap of keen young kids and it can be physically demanding, especially as I look after the under-12s in the mornings, too."
From facing a fast and fiery Shane Harwood at Ballarat Country Week to carrying his bat in the Wangaratta and District grand finals, Grant, 43, says he has loved every moment.
"I just hope my young bloke, Rhys, learns to love it as much as I do," he said.
Season 2009-10 is Grant's 27th in country ranks, and his CV also includes senior executive and coaching roles.
He says the pathway to city cricket wasn't readily available for him as a youngster. He has simply tried to do as well as he could, with the skills he has been taught.
"I build my game on being hard to get out," he says.
"I'm not a big hitter. Hopefully the longer you stay out there, the better you start to see 'em."
Fifteen of his centuries have come in club ranks, including his most memorable innings of 132 against Corowa in a recent grand final at the Norm Minns Oval.
"They'd dropped us out of the finals in the previous four or five years and here we were at 7-50 and in all sorts," he said.
"I thought to myself how this surely couldn't happen to us again, and having been dropped once, I got my head down and thanks to the boys batting at 10 and 11, we got to 300, which was a fair recovery.
"The last two wickets added 198, of which I got 110. The boys who batted with me, Jarrod Milsom and Mark Worthington, were superb.
"We were able to win that game from nowhere."
Grant says Harwood and Barry McCormick, who played in the Big Smoke with North Melbourne, are among the fastest bowlers he has ever faced. He also has a high opinion of Rod "Rocket" Lane from Corowa, who also had time in Melbourne, with Carlton.
"He's the one I have most respected over the years," he said. "He's also the first I'll have a beer with after a game."
Ken Piesse's latest book is The Extraordinary Book of Australian Cricket, featuring many bush legends. It is available from the Cricket Books website.
