John Dunk - have fun and play to your ability
John Dunk is a well-known and highly respected member of the cricket and business community across the regional and rural communities of New South Wales.
He’s a farmer, Insurance broker and continues to have a lifelong love of cricket. He’s travelled to just about every corner of NSW to play the game and played grade cricket in Sydney for Western Suburbs.
John made his debut for Western Suburbs in 4th grade during the 1969-70 season. It didn’t take long for John to impress when he took 8 for 44 in a game and for the two seasons 1969-70 and 1970-71 John played at Wests he played in 4th grade, 3rd Grade, and 2nd grade. He scored 349 runs and took 57 wickets at an incredible average of 10.09.
John opened the bowling in the Poidevin Gray Under 21 competition with Western Suburbs first grade opening bowler Gary Gilmour who went on to play first class cricket for NSW and Test Cricket for Australia.
Let’s find out more about John’s journey in the game
John Dunk
What year you were born?
1949
Can you remember your first game of cricket?
As a 9- 10-year-old I often filled in as a fielder when our Hungerford team was short or when someone was late but my first memory of playing a full game was, once again in Hungerford, as a 12-year-old in a team captained by my father. I remember it well because Dad brought me on to bowl my leg breaks to the opening batsman who had a fair opinion of his own ability. He pleaded with Dad not to give me a bowl because I was only a kid and what he was going to do to me would destroy my confidence forever. Dad, of course, was confident in my ability and took no notice of him and I don't think there was a prouder moment in Dad's life when I bowled him.
Tell us briefly about your cricketing journey?
We lived on a property 185 kilometers north west of Bourke with the Queensland border our northern boundary fence so Hungerford which is just over the border in Queensland and 30 kilometres from home was our local town (population of 10). My Grandfather obtained Warroo in 1924, after the first world war so we have had four generations, my grandfather, Roy, my father Peter myself and my son James play for Hungerford. When the next game is in Hungerford my grandson Roy, who is doing really well with his cricket, will make the fifth generation.
We were educated through correspondence schooling with Mum as our teacher and once in high school we had to go away to boarding school. All Saints at Bathurst was the closest boarding school so my cricket, I guess, started in earnest there.
After completing Year 12, I went to Macquarie University and played intervarsity with them whilst playing with Western Suburbs in the Sydney grade competition.
I moved back to Bourke and played in the local competition. Moved to West Wyalong in 1981, playing with Burcher on Sundays and travelled to Temora to play with Springdale on Saturdays and of course rep cricket in the O'Farrell Cup, Grinstead Cup etc. Moved to Young in 1985 and played with the Blues and Burrangong and then LachIan Council and Western Zone.
In later years and to this day I play with the Sydney Cricket Ground XI with two tours to England and so much fun.
In which grade and at what age did you make your debut in senior cricket?
I started with Western Suburbs at age 20 in fourth grade.
What was the highest grade you played in senior cricket and can you remember how you performed on debut?
2nd grade with Wests but my debut was fourths. Certainly, didn't set the house on fire and don't remember the actual scores.
How would you describe yourself as a cricketer?
I have always been an allrounder, always batted number three in bush cricket and often opened the bowling but I was only medium pace but could move the ball both ways. I thought of myself as a batsman who could bowl a bit but my success in representative cricket was as a bowler.
What were your strengths as a player?
I was pretty consistent and could bat for long periods and as a batsman I stuck to the shots I was best at and didn't attempt the others. I had safe hands and didn't drop many catches but wish I could throw further.
What's been your highest score in senior cricket?
201 not out for Burcher in the West Wyalong competition in 1989
John Dunk
What's been your best bowling figures in senior cricket?
7 for 28 in an International Dealer's Shield match against Forbes in 1982
Who were the best three fast bowlers you have played against?
Greg Webster from Nyngan was the fastest followed by Steve lfland and Greg Griffiths from the Orange/Bathurst areas. I only played a handful of games against them so really not fair to comment as much on them.
Billy Collins who played for Cobar. In those days we played on coir matting so even though he was a little fellow he could make the ball fly on that surface; very fit and extremely competitive.
Craig Patterson who played for Wagga was the fastest. Left arm bowler had a long run and was quite lethal.
Alex Maitland from West Wyalong was very accurate, a left armer and always at you. Very competitive and someone who wanted to bowl all the time.
Graham Newcombe from Cowra and Mal Noack from Temora were very handy as well.
At Wests I was fortunate enough to open the bowling in Poidevin Gray with Gary Gilmour so that was special because he was such a great character and player.
I was lucky enough to face Stuart Clark at Bowral in an SCGXI match and Andy Roberts in a charity match in Bourke when he was playing for NSW. They were only one-off matches but highlighted to us the gap between their standard and ours.
Gary Gilmour
Who were the best three spinners you have played against?
The best was an Indian (Prassana) an off spinner who played for an Indian touring side against our combined Bourke/Cobar side. He had apparently played a few unofficial tests and certainly showed us what it was all about.
Mark Preddy, a leg spinner who played quite a bit of grade cricket in Sydney and also played quite a lot with the Bradman XI at Bowral. He was always on the spot and didn't give much away.
Brendon Lyons in Young. He was a junior but so enthusiastic, just loved the game and on the spot consistently.
Bomber Ireland from Tullibigeal took so many wickets because he just kept throwing them up, setting the appropriate field and batsmen would hole out so often. He never gave up, appealed for anything and competitive to the nth degree.
Who were the best 3 batsman you've played against?
Peter Luffman from Tilpa had such a tight defense and unbelievable concentration. He scored a power of runs over a long period on every surface and quite regularly as an opener would bat through most of the innings if not all.
Terry Ireland from Tullibigeal scored well over a hundred hundreds on surfaces from turf to coir matting to malthoid and cement as an opener and often retired to give others in the team a hit. He scored his runs at a good rate and had every shot in the book.
Billy McKegg from Temora demoralised most attacks in the Riverina. A left handed high order bat who was savage square of the wicket. He punished top line bowlers equally as well as the also rans with a smile on his face.
Jim Prentice from Mirrool was another wonderful batsman. He also played first grade Aussie Rules in Melbourne. Jim scored many runs opening the batting for West Wyalong in the O'Farrell Cup and a number of centuries at that level. Big and strong and punishing.
I guess Peter Toohey was the best but I only played a handful of games against him.
Mick Slater from Young was very good as was David Tink at Dubbo. Both very quick scorers.
Who played the best innings you've seen firsthand playing with or against?
David Tink scored 114 for Western Zone against lllawarra on one leg.
He batted number 4, had a quite severe leg injury and had limited movement but he just belted them to all parts of the ground.
Was there any bowler or batsman in particular who for whatever reason always seemed to cause you a few problems?
Richie Ridge from Engonnia. He was a gentle medium pacer, but the ball seemed to "wobble" and was never quite there.
Mick Slater from Young was hard to bowl to as a left hander because he was deadly if you strayed off a length, had such a long reach and hit the ball so hard.
Don LeLeivre from Louth too was so tall, and his reach dictated to a large degree where you had to bowl.
Can you recall a time when you thought, wow, this is a step or two up from what you were used to in senior cricket?
We played quite a few Tooheys Cup games over the years where each team had three Shied/test players; the likes of Gordon Greenidge, Mark Waugh, Mark Taylor, Greg Mattews, Steve Rixon, Steve Small, Doud Walters, Trevor Chappell etc.
We were in awe of the time they had to play their shots and their professionalism.
Who was the best wicket keeper you've seen firsthand playing with or against?
Steve Rixon was so good, especially over the stumps but in bush cricket I think Tom Purtell eclipsed most.
Jim Prentice was as good as anyone in the bush and could take pretty lively bowling over the stumps.
Steve Rixon
Who are the two players you admired most in terms of skills and competitive spirit in the competitions you played?
Sam Rees from Condobolin was such a hard taskmaster who insisted on your best at all times, he had no favourites and you knew what to expect if you didn't give of your best. As a captain he had that ability by virtue of his example to bring out the best in teammates.
Greg Griffiths from Orange who was a very good and lively fast bowler was a master of concentration with his bowling and hated you leaking runs from loose balls and not fielding well off your own bowling.
He was so big on the concentration aspect of bowling and in his eyes more important than batting.
Who was the best captain you had the good fortune to play with?
Phil Nott, my first captain in the first XI at boarding school I thought was brilliant, seemed to know when to change the bowling, motivate you in a nice way and at that age provided so much encouragement.
In my adult years though it was Sam Rees who I have just described. Probably not the best tactical skipper but he never gave an inch. The opposition always knew they were in for a fight and he was never frightened to try something new.
What are the two attributes of a captain you admire most?
The ability to read a game, try something different and act on their gut feeling with bowling changes and field placements.
Who has been your funniest team mate?
Donny Haub at Burcher. He would come out to bat, generally at number 10 or 11. He’d take guard right-handed, let the opposition set the field then change to left handed and go through the process again and generally get bowled next ball.
Can you recall some banter or an exchange on the cricket field that still makes you laugh today?
I had a team in Young where I was the only adult. The rest of the team were teenagers still at school.
I had remarried and two of my stepsons played in the team. The opening bowler was their school teacher. First over. I was umpiring, the ball hit my stepson Jona on the pads and of course a raucus appeal. When I gave him not out the bowler put his hands on his hips and said, "that'd be right, how would he be out, you're sleeping with his Mother''
What was your most embarrassing dismissal in senior cricket?
One of my first games in Sydney after playing in the outback on matting where on the line was in. I let a ball go, never moved my back foot and of course was given out stumped.
Who was your childhood hero?
Norman O'Neill
Who are the three sports people in the world you'd most like to meet?
Roger Fedderer, Michael Jordan and Tiger Woods.
Tiger Woods
Who's your favourite cricket commentator?
I loved Johnny Moyes and Alan McGilvray but nowadays Jim Maxwell.
What was your favourite ground to play at?
Sydney Cricket Ground but Bradman Oval at Bowral is pretty special and a little ground in England, Bunbury was also very nice.
What's been your most memorable moment in cricket?
I guess scoring a double century but also scoring 502 runs for the season and only being dismissed once so technically averaging 502 in the year I turned 40. I also averaged over a hundred in the Temora and West Wyalong competitions in successive years.
What's the best win you've been involved with?
Winning the competition in Bourke against Dry Lake because we were the real underdogs and did so much travelling. Our team was made up of players from Hungerford and Wanaaring and to compete in the competition we travelled a total of 59,000 kilometres for 17 matches.
The grand final alone in Bourke was 4,700 kilometres and a home game in Hungerford was 1,800 kilometres.
Who are the three players from your playing days at the top of the list for a Saturday afternoon barbeque?
Bruce Hocking from Gunnedah, a teammate from the SCG XI; great fun, always happy, generous, great sense of humour and always had your back.
Phillip Booth, another SCG XI teammate; loved a good time and never let you have an empty glass.
Colin Leigo from Wanaaring who has many stories, loves parties and a great entertainer and of course an avid cricket fan.
What are your hobbies?
Collecting sporting memorabilia and looking after our 105,000-acre outback property which will have been in our family for 100 years in February 2024.
What's the best advice you've received?
Do what you know is right, have fun and play to your ability
What's your occupation?
Insurance Broker - Dunk Insurance
We have offices in Young, Cootamundra, Forbes, Wauchope and Bathurst and Authorised Representatives in West Wyalong, Temora, Goulburn, Narromine, Brisbane and Sydney.
Are you still involved in cricket and if so, in what capacity?
Yes but only play a couple of games a year. One of which is the John Dunk Cup which evolved from the SCG XI affiliation with the SCG of which I am extremely proud.
If you were running a state cricket association what would your 2 priorities to ensure cricket in the state remained strong and successful on and off the field? A greater concentration on cricket at grass roots level.
Bring teams to the country like they used to do with Jack Chegwyn's XI or Tooheys Cup games where young upcoming cricketers are on show and get to play with and/or witness what can be achieved.
Have young upcoming players play grade cricket with the older hard heads and learn to be tough in every aspect of the game, not be given a pathway where everything is handed to them and only play in the best conditions.