Delighted Dry joins celebrated 500 club

HAMISH BIDWELL

There was little in Lance Dry's first over in Pearce Cup cricket to suggest he would go on to take 500 wickets.

But that's the milestone the 35-year-old Eastern Suburbs leg spinner reached yesterday, when he dismissed Naenae's Damian Austin, on home turf at Kilbirnie Park.

In doing so, Dry became the first bowler since Evan Gray (Karori and Johnsonville) to reach the elusive mark.

Gray ultimately took 762 wickets in a career which spanned 1972 to 2004 while Dry, whose haul now stands at 502, made his debut straight out of St Pat's Town in 1993.

"My first over was in a two-day game and Hamish Gray, the then-captain, decided that we'd open the bowling with me on my debut, bowling leg spin. So we won the toss and put them in, my first two balls got punished for four and he took me off," Dry recalled yesterday.

"I didn't get another bowl in that game."

Dry eventually assumed the captaincy five seasons later and has turned bringing himself on to wrap up the tail into an art form. He reckons about 200 of his scalps have been tailenders, with lbw the most regular mode of dismissal.

Very "stump to stump" for a leggie, Dry has always kept umpires honest, albeit that they haven't raised the finger quite as often as he might have liked.

"To count all the ones that were out but not given – mid to late 900s," Dry joked, of what his tally should have been.

All jokes, for which Dry is well-known, aside, he is very proud to have achieved the milestone of 500. Not quite as chuffed as he is with guiding his team to nine Pearce Cup titles on the trot, but still happy.

"When I stop playing I think it'll be something quite cool [to reflect on]. But that might be a wee way off yet."

Mind you, days like yesterday's might hasten that retirement. Having won both their Twenty20 matches on Saturday, Easts were beaten by Naenae and Collegians yesterday.

Results were up and down across the board, with none of the Pearce Cup teams exiting the weekend unbeaten.

There were some fine individual performances, though, arguably none better than Michael Pollard's unbeaten 100 for North City yesterday afternoon. Chasing 166 to beat Naenae, Pollard's brutal straight hitting saw Norths get up by four wickets.

Others such as Phil Tunnicliffe, Jimad Khan and Jeremy Dean did enough to get Wellington trials, while England recruit Luke Wright lived up to his billing with a brilliant 85 off 45 on Saturday.

Top Twenty Bowlers who have taken 500 wickets or more in senior club cricket

A Brice (1902-1935) 1173
S O'Neill (1930-1964) 869
J Ashenden (1931-1957) 847
K Tucker (1894-1928) 811
E Upham (1889-1911) 783
E Gray (1972-2004) 762
J Perkins (1959-1985) 719
R Allen (1935-1965) 717
M Coles (1964-1982) 687
H Chapman (1940-1961) 650
S Cater (1971-1988) 584
C Finlayson (1909-1928) 577
R Broom (1951-1967) 576
L Butler (1951-1971) 572
H Morgan 1956-1977) 566
E Hales (1896-1913) 560
E Judd (1910-1936) 544
P Benfield (1968-1988) 530
H McGirr (1911-1932) 502
L Dry (1993-2010) 502*

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