Festivities are expected to last well into the evening today as St Andrew’s Cricket Club and Branxholme Cricket Club celebrate club records that rarely get broken, with both clubs’ games records set to be broken.

Craig Dimond (St Andrew’s) and Andrew McFarlane (Branxholme) will both pass the existing record for their respective clubs today, with Dimond playing game number 480 and surpassing Graeme Byrne, while McFarlane overtakes his uncle, John McFarlane, with 358.

McFarlane started his Hamilton and District Cricket Association (HDCA) cricket career in the juniors for the Byaduk club as an 11-year-old and earned a senior call up at 15 where he then played 6-8 summers with the Ducks before switching to Branxholme.

He doesn’t know how many games he played for Byaduk but adding these games to his Branxholme tally would see him pass 420 senior games in the HDCA.

He has scored over 14,500 runs (high score of 268) and taken 244 wickets across his journey with the Bulls and has raised his bat in recognition of 33 centuries, the last coming only two weeks ago against Grampians.

Dimond has scored 11,124 runs to date with nine centuries (highest score of 163) and a further six scores in the 90s, while he has also bagged 444 wickets, firstly as a tearaway quick that has bowled spin in the latter part of his career.

Reminiscing about the journey to date, McFarlane said the friendships and healthy rivalries kept him involved in the game to this day.

“I’ve played with and against so many great players with records coming and going, but Ray Sutton is only eight wickets short of the record at the club and he is only one player that comes to mind,” McFarlane said.

 “To win premierships as a team is why I play and early on at Branxholme we won three in a row, but with the blue gum industry coming into the area, it took a lot of families away from the district, and therefore players from the club and we haven’t enjoyed the success as much recently.”

When the subject of personal inspiration is raised, neither would name a person or player who they took inspiration from.

“Premierships are great, and I’ve been fortunate enough to play in a few, but for me it’s the chance to play with players who I’ve coached as juniors and even these players’ kids too is a highlight that I take from the journey,” Dimond said.

“It’s the whole club really; when times get tough there is always someone within who comes along and helps.”

“There’s too many to name really,” McFarlane said.

“I don’t want to single anyone out, but there have been many people from our club and also people from other clubs that have influenced me.”

Over their time in the HDCA they have witnessed changes that they don’t agree with, but they know that to keep people playing the game some changes had to be made.

The lack of two-day cricket in the B-C and D grades is a sore point for both, as each believes that youngsters don’t get the opportunity to play long innings with the bat, while the bowler restrictions of only eight overs in a game stops them from developing further too.

“I know that times change but I miss playing two-day games where we can develop younger players with their skills over a day’s play,” McFarlane lamented.

“Kids don’t get the opportunity to bat for an afternoon and learn how to grind out runs against good bowlers from the opposition, or bowl long spells against batsmen working out how to get them out,” Dimond said.

When quizzed about the possibility of retiring, neither has even had thoughts about it with both looking to the future for not only them selves but their clubs too.

Both said they couldn’t achieve what they have in the game without the support of their families, of whom they paid special thanks to.