A CHANGE of pace is important for bowlers, on and off the cricket pitch.
That is why a decorated weapon from the Gormandale armoury is set to become the new gun for Glengarry this season in the Traralgon and District Cricket Association.
Tigers star Adam Brady will become playing coach of the Magpies in 2016/17 and is looking forward to the challenge of a new club and his first gig in charge.
“Having been at Gormandale a long time I made some pretty good friends being part of a successful era there,” Brady said.
“It’s a tough decision to leave but the timing is right for me to move on and try something new.
“I’ve known a lot of the guys out here for a long time so I’ve got a bit of a connection.”
The incoming coach has family ties to the Pies as well.
His grandfather, Harold Brady, a TDCA life member and renowned umpire, won a premiership with Glengarry in the 1950s – a tradition Brady is keen to add his name to.
The 33 year-old has no plans to reinvent the wagon wheel, only to build on the solid base which earned a flag in 2014/15.
“In terms of the cricket club, particularly the A grade side, there’s been a core of players here for a while. I don’t think I’m going to have to, nor do I want to, change anything drastically. I just want to complement the side and bring my experience from Gormandale and my past cricket life and help out,” Brady said.
“Hopefully my bowling can provide some steadiness to their current attack.”
“Steady” undersells Brady’s influence over the past decade.
He has been a consistent wicket taker for the Tigers since the 2008/09 season when he snagged 28 A grade scalps, and he has picked up at least 25 in every season since.
Brady has only gotten better with age and has claimed more than 30 wickets in each of the past three seasons, peaking with 36 at 11.7 last year to be among the top five bowlers in the league.
One of the keys to his success has been his bowling partnership with Gormandale captain Shaun Barbour, with whom he formed a menacing combination in his years with the Tigers. The Brady-Barbour bond may have been broken, but the former reckons he will have no problem finding replacements at his new club.
“Shaun’s been a huge influence on me. He’s younger than me but I’ve played a lot of my cricket with him and we’ve gone through Gormy together, but I’ve got a lot to draw on from the coaches I’ve had,” Brady said.
“Me and Shauny did complement each other quite well, we bowled in a pretty good partnership over the years, so it’s going to be new in that regard for me.
“I don’t think it’s going to be too different with the likes of Cam Graham, he’s probably, other than being a left-hander, a similar bowler to me, very steady, tries to be quite economical. I’ll just look to bowl in partnerships.”
As for his approach to coaching, Brady said he would emphasise hard training and fielding.
“Fielding is probably the biggest part of the game in my opinion so working really hard on that, and try to be as professional as I can,” he said.
“I think the guys have matured quite a lot over the last couple of years here so I want to continue to make sure they’re professional and the club’s perceived in a good way and keep up the success.
“They’ve made finals quite a number of years in a row now so my main aim is to continue that.”
Glengarry has traditionally sourced coaches and players from within its ranks, and Brady’s appointment bucks the trend.
Magpies treasurer Mark Bermingham said the club had been on the lookout for an outside influence to help take it to the next level.
“What we were looking for was a player with experience, well respected within the association,” Bermingham said.
“Out of our premiership senior side two years ago, eight of them came from our juniors, so Glengarry’s always been strong in the juniors.
“We wanted someone to complement that and bring an outside view to the club… a fresh set of eyes over the players and it revitalises them.”
Glengarry is set to start pre-season training on Wednesday, 24 August from 5.30pm.
For more information or to get involved with the club phone club president Barry Little on 0417 305 923.
