VIC Haag says if it wasn't for a failing set of peepers he'd still be playing cricket now, despite being on the wrong side of 70.

"We've always played cricket," he said. "It's in the blood.

"My twin sisters were always very keen and it was natural for all of us to play.

"There was eight of us. We lived two miles (3.2km) from town (Seville) and would play up on the dirt road after school. When it was holiday time, we'd be out there all day playing our tests. We all loved it."

Vic was playing A grade cricket for the town from the age of 10 and in addition to 12 premierships, he has held every position at his own club and the Yarra Valley Association.

"I've been coach, selector, secretary, president, just about everything except for auditor," he said.

He says kids of his era were always outside. His cricket-loving father brought home a copy of The Argus one day which included some swing bowling tips from Ray Lindwall, one of Don Bradman's Invincibles and Vic practiced in-swing and out-swing until it was too dark to see.

"None of us had any coaching. We just learnt as we went along," he said.

But for two seasons with Lilydale, Vic played for almost 40 years at the one club, amassing 2000 career wickets and a host of scalps, including the star Victorian Val Holten, who succumbed to an in-ducker during a trial game on the malthoid at Wandin.

"You remember all the grand finals as there is so much riding on them," he said.

"We beat Healesville one year (1967-68) in a game which didn't start until April after three consecutive Saturdays were washed out at Warburton.

"They hadn't lost a game all year and had a former Victorian in Neville West playing for them. He'd been unstoppable with seven or eight 100s.

"Football was starting and the only ground available to us was our own at Seville so we ended up playing the final there. My brother Stan had taken over from me as captain and as soon as Neville came in, we brought on our slow bowler and placed a bloke on the cover boundary and he skied one straight out to him to be out for next to nothing. They made only 160 and we got past them. That was sweet.

"It was our third flag in a row, something the club had never achieved before."

Now living in Kyabram and not far short of 75, Vic says he stopped playing at the age of 50 because of a hamstring tear and not being able to pick up the ball when batting as well as he used to.

"I'd have the young bucks running in at me and bowling pretty fast. I'd be playing against many of their fathers," he said. "When you've had the wood over them they were always keen to get you.

"I was becoming a hindrance in the field, so I became an umpire for 10 or so years and was involved in more grand finals."

Vic was honoured in 1994 when the association named its competition best player award in his honour.

Stan Haag won three competition batting awards.

Ken Piesse's latest book, The Extraordinary Book of Australian Cricket is an encyclopedia of trivia and is available from www.cricketbooks.com.au