MERBEIN South’s Shane Trinick is a strongly built bloke with a personality to match.
One of the good guys of cricket, a fierce competitor on the field and the first to buy you a beer off it.
He’s universally respected and liked by teammates and opponents throughout the Sunraysia cricket community.
So it was no surprise his 300th game has been greeted with so much excitement and anticipation.
The veteran paceman reached the milestone last night against Coomealla Wentworth but the Saints will be celebrating the achievement after today’s game at Chaffey Park.
Trinick’s cricket journey began back in 1993, playing in the lower grades but it was obvious from an early age he had something special.
It wasn’t long before he was elevated to the senior team and he quickly established himself as one of the premier bowlers in the district.
Trinick, 40, attributes his success to hard work, hours spent bowling in the nets and a genuine love for the game.
“The way I went about my training is a lot different to what players are told now,” he said.
“I would start training on a Tuesday night and bowl until the last batsman had batted – all night, flat out and then I would do the same on a Thursday.”
Trinick’s success with the ball soon saw him as a regular representative player for Sunraysia at Melbourne’s Country Week and it was during one of these trips he was noticed by Melbourne district club Ringwood.
“I was lucky enough to represent Sunraysia on a few occasions and one of those occasions was at Melbourne Country Week and that is when Ringwood Cricket Club got interested in me and picked me up for the 2004-2005 season,” he said.
“I went down there for a couple of years and had a crack.”
Trinick spent two seasons playing in Melbourne, honing his craft under the guidance of former Victorian and Tasmanian fast bowler David Saker.
“I was lucky enough to play alongside and be coached by David Saker while I was down in Melbourne,” he said as he reflected on his cricket journey.
“His nephew was playing for Ringwood at the time and it was just before David (Saker) went off to state and national duties, and we were lucky enough to have him at Ringwood for one year.
“I learnt a lot from him and it was good timing – you play district cricket and you get to a certain stage and particularly from a country boy’s perspective if you are not going to go any further you’re better off going home which is what I did.
“I got to a certain stage where I thought I am probably not going to reach the next stepping stone which is playing for Victoria so I was a bit homesick so I decided to come back (to Mildura), bought a house and settled down.”
Appointed coach of Merbein South on his return, Trinick picked up where he left off, terrorising local batsmen and helping establish the Saints as one of the power brokers of SCA cricket.
Under Trinick’s guidance, Merbein South were able to win the 2008-09 flag, he relinquished the coaching role the following year but was again a key figure in the Saints 2009-10 premiership win.
While team success has always been Trinick’s main priority, he has picked up plenty of personal awards during his 25 years in the game.
He won the Innes Medal for the best player in the SCA in 2008-09, has been club champion nine times, one shy of club legend Wayne Carmichael, has taken over 500 wickets and scored more than 3500 runs. Always there to provide support has been his family, particularly wife Gill.
Trinick’s advice to young players coming through is to be “match fit”.
“Being match fit is something some of the younger guys probably need to work harder at,” he said.
“Don’t be scared about going hard and for long periods of time, that is how you get match fit.
“A lot of the guys today are fit enough but they are not strong enough because they don’t do the work.
“If you are going to bowl, you have to be bowling fit – if you are going to bowl 20 overs on a Saturday you want to be able to do that during the week in the nets.
“If you can’t do it in practice then you aren’t going to be able to do it in a match so you are better off pressing through on a Tuesday and Thursday, and having your body in condition to cope with match conditions on a Saturday”.
Trinick’s playing career
Debut: 1993-94
Premierships
• 1994-95 (thirds)
• 1995-96 (seconds)
• 2008-09 (seniors)
• 2009-10 (seniors)
Bowling
• Overs 3640
• Wickets 582
• Five wickets in an innings 18
• Best Bowling 8/32
• Average 17.89
• Strike rate 37.53
Batting
• Innings 277
• Runs 3426
• Half centuries 9
• Highest score 96 (seconds), 79 (seniors)
• Average 18.52
Individual Awards
• Club Champion 9 times
• SCA Innes Medallist 2008-09
• Country Victoria Representative 2007-08, 2008, 2009
