Touching moment: The Teasdale family enjoyed a rare moment at the weekend, as skipper Luke and his son Tighe were joined by brother Kirk and his sons Geordie, Toby and Hamish, as the six took to the field together for the first time. Photo: Aidan Briggs
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Aidan Briggs
Familial connections are an inherent part of local sporting clubs, with younger generations often running out in the same colours as mothers or fathers who came before them.
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For a rare few, the opportunity to play alongside that forebearer presents itself, which it did for the Teasdale clan on Saturday.
More than half of Moama’s C-grade XI bore the Teasdale family name against Rochester, with skipper Luke playing alongside his son Tighe for the first time, as did his brother Kirk with sons Toby, Geordie and Hamish.
Incredibly though, the Teasdales weren’t the only sets of fathers and sons playing together for the first time, with Jamie and Kelly Horkings also sharing the special occasion.
The remarkably uncommon occurrence was a source of pride for the family, with Luke presenting the youngsters with their first senior cap before the match.
“We presented them all with caps before the game, made it like a little special moment for them, something they will cherish forever,” he said.
“It was pretty important for the family and, obviously, with what Kirk has done for the cricket club for the last 35 years.
“He’s been president for a lot of years, won a lot of A-grade flags and made a lot of hundreds over the years as well. It was a really good day, and just nice to be involved.”
Special moment: Kelly and Jamie Horkings were apart of the celebration of family at the weekend too, playing their first senior game together in Moama's C-grade side. Photo: Supplied
Kirk’s contributions to Moama Cricket Club cannot be understated.
A renowned cricketer with nine A-grade flags to his name, Kirk has served on the board of Goulburn Murray Cricket, filled the role as club president of Moama, coached both junior Moama and GMC representative sides, while filling almost every other role in his decorated tenure at the club.
Having already played with son Archie at A-grade level, to be able to take to the field under the captaincy of his brother, and alongside three of his sons and his nephew at the weekend, was a special moment that he will look back on fondly.
“It was (a special day), it’s something that probably won’t happen again, but who knows, there’s that many Teasdales, so it could well,” he said.
“The situation just worked out in our favour with the Australia Day weekend and that sort of stuff, and the idea was flagged and we thought ‘righto, why not’.
“They’re all cricket mad and the few days leading up was pretty exciting for the boys. I’m sure in years down the track you’ll sort of look back and look at how special it was.”
The big day for the family was made all the more special by the fact that Moama managed an 18-run win, which Luke said was still the main aim for the uber-competitive clan.
“Rochy played pretty well, obviously we had a lot of kids (playing), but I didn’t want to lose,” he said laughing.
“We all have that competitive instinct, we’ve had it for years.
“Even on Christmas Day, you can see it in all the kids, there’s 13 grandkids that Mum and Dad have got, it’s game on at Christmas Day backyard cricket.
‘’There’s tears, there’s a few tantrums, there’s the occasional wrestle, that sort of stuff.
“But it was nothing like that on Saturday, it was all amicable, all the boys got a bat and a few made runs, a couple made ducks, but we got over the line in the end.”
Luke top-scored for the side with 36, while Kirk (2-10) and Geordie (1-15) were among the wickets as Moama secured its 11th straight win to start the season.
Given the storied careers of Kirk and Luke at the club, the Teasdale name is now almost synonymous with Moama, something which Kirk hopes the younger generation will keep alive well into the future.
“Dad sort of never played cricket, my uncle played a little bit here and there going backwards, but it all probably started with me back in the day,” he said.
“To have five half decent cricketers coming on, I’m sure there will be Teasdales ― which most oppositions will hate anyway ― (at Moama) for another 30 to 40 years at least.”
