Stan Pongracic and sons Matt, left, and Jason step out onto the field to play their first Egrade game together for the Merinda Park Cobras.By Glen Atwell
STAN Pongracic and sons Matt and Jason created history for the Cobras when the trio made their way onto the field to take part in their first Egrade cricket match against Pakenham UpperToomuc last Saturday.
It was a moment for the family album as Melissa, wife of Stan and mother of Matt and Jason, was an intrigued spectator and ready to heal any wounds on the way back to the clubrooms after the match.
Matt, 13, is a legspin bowler and his 11yearold brother Jason is a handy batsman.
Jason is eligible to play in the under12 side on Friday nights, but prefers to step out with his dad and take on men normally aged in their 40s.
Stan, 43, said it was a great family achievement to be playing alongside his two sons, a moment he admitted he once thought would never come.
“I had been working nightshift for the past seven years and never really thought about playing cricket again,” he said. “Walking out onto the field with my two boys was a real buzz.”
After Pakenham UpperToomuc declared after easily passing the Cobras’ score, young Jason put up his hand to open the second innings batting, partnering his dad.
Jason survived 10 overs before popping a full toss back to the bowler, but Stan said the innings was one he will never forget.
“It was inspiring, a very proud moment for me,” he said.
And Stan intends to keep the cricketing family playing for as long as he can.
“We’ll keep playing and keep improving, it’s great fun,” he said.
It seems that family ties run rife through the Merinda Park Egrade side, with two more fatherson combinations bowling into action.
Trevor and Stuart Martin and Lee and Brent Vowles play alongside Stan, Jason and Matt, proving once and for all that a passion for cricket definitely runs in the blood.
