Lee Sproal counts himself lucky that no one of the calibre or reach of Australian all-rounder Cameron Green is fielding in the gully when he comes out to bat.
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The University of Wollongong Cricket Club batsman is renowned for his late cut shot, which has yielded the majority of his 10,000 runs for his beloved Uni.
"There is very few teams that I play against that don't field two gullies. Put it this way, every time I walk out to bat I see the captain changing his field placings and putting in an extra gully ," Sproal said.
"I guess I'm known for scoring most of my runs behind point or through the slips, which I'm okay with."
Regardless where the 51-year-old has scored the majority of runs, he will still go down in the record books at Uni after recently bringing up his 10,000 run for the Students.
It's a feat only one other Uni batter has achieved, John Pemberton.
"I think this stat has more to do with longevity than anything else," the humble Sproal said.
"I'm sure there are other players in the Illawarra competition who have scored just as many runs if not more for their clubs.
"In saying that I'm happy to join the 10,000-run club alongside John Pemberton."
Sproal started playing for Uni in the 1993-94 season. In the 30 years since he has played close to 400 games, some 322 of them in second grade.
"It's been a great journey. I love playing. I love the game and the people I'm playing with," he said.
"I still enjoy competing. There have obviously been some good and bad times but through it all I still have had a love of the game.
"One of the many highlights was the 2016/17 grand final against Northern Districts. It was a good tight game. It was a low scoring game with both teams batting twice. You obviously don't get that anymore nowadays."
Sproal has also loved playing for his beloved Uni.
"Because of the nature of the club we've obviously had a lot of players from out of the area as we ll as from other countries come and play for our club. That's one of the great things about Uni," he said.
"As a result we have a high turn over of players each season with Uni students moving to the area and then leaving again when they finish their courses.
"It's good to see all the different faces each year and get to know people and know that they've, I suppose had some fun while they're around here and then moving on to somewhere else.
"We also though have had a good number of long term players. We had one player, Paul Jones, pass 600 games recently. He became our second player, after John Pemberton, to achieve 600 senior games for our club.
"Like all clubs we have a strong crew of volunteers who spend a lot of time running our club."
Sproal has seen his fair share of change at the club and the Illawarra competition in general.
He is all for the introduction of T20 cricket, Masters' cricket and the introduction of a women's competition,
"Though I wouldn't like to see any rule changes. The less we alter with the rules, the better I reckon. It's a great game the way it is."
Agron Latifi
Wollongong born and bred. I love reporting about the Illawarra region and have been doing it for more than 20 years. I've moved into sport recently after covering the education round for the last five plus years for the Illawarra Mercury. It's been a great pleasure.
Wollongong born and bred. I love reporting about the Illawarra region and have been doing it for more than 20 years. I've moved into sport recently after covering the education round for the last five plus years for the Illawarra Mercury. It's been a great pleasure.
