Wayne Walsh has been at the forefront of cricket and football for the past 25 years. He has enjoyed a great playing career on the local cricket scene and enjoyed the highs of premierships and success at Melbourne Country Week. Wayne has also played and coached in the Bendigo Football League. But it is his passion for cricket that could see him assume an off field leadership role next summer and if successful, he has some exciting plans for the game at local level. He also wants to see more major sport such as the NAB Challenge, the Tynan Eyre Challenge Cup and other major events staged at the premier sports ground of the region the Queen Elizabeth Oval. Our Newsmaker was born in Bendigo and attended North Bendigo Primary and then on to the Bendigo High School where he completed year 11. Wayne’s first job in the workforce was as a fitter and machinist at ADI in Bendigo where he started as an apprentice. After about 16 years at ADI he left and went to work with the Defence Department at Fortuna where he worked in the mapping department. “Right now I am a training manager,” Wayne said. “It is a role where you look at the training needs and requirements for all the technicians within the workplace and I am really enjoying that role,’’ he said. Our Newsmaker has always been able to combine the mainstream sports of football and cricket on the weekends. “I started my football career with Golden Square and played in all the junior sides. “Once I got up to the stage of senior football I had a two year stint playing with Tongala in the Goulburn Valley League before returning to play with Golden Square in 1982. “We made the grand final only to get rolled by Eaglehawk.” Wayne also saw plenty of changes to local football, such as the 1983 shakeup with the amalgamation of the Bendigo and Golden City Leagues. Then he secured the coaching role at North Bendigo, where he stayed for three seasons. Wayne had plans of retiring from the game in 1986 when he was 27 but then close friend Allan Findlay talked him in to having a game at Eaglehawk. They were coached in those days by Robert O’Connell and the Borough played off in two grand finals without success. Wayne took over from Robert O’Connell in 1988 and coached a very young side for just one season. Our newsmaker then caught the travel bug and headed off to line up with Gunbower in the Northern District League with former Eaglehawk team mates Allan Findlay and Murray Collins. But the travelling lasted just one season and then he decided to hang up the boots That gave him the opportunity to spend more time with the family and occasionally he headed to Melbourne to watch his beloved Collingwood Magpies and to witness the 1990 grand final. Cricket has always been a passion for Wayne after starting his career with Bendigo High School in the junior league competition. “My father was involved with White Hills so I went and played my junior cricket there,” Wayne said. “Then in 1974 I was approached to go and play with Eaglehawk who were under the guidance in those days of Herb Turner. “He gave me plenty of opportunities to improve my game. “I was very fortunate to play in a few grand finals with the Borough. “At one stage they embarked on a junior development program with players like myself and Gary Tupper and Denis Bice, who were just teenagers at the time. “Over a short period of time we learnt very quickly from the experienced players at the club. “We had some wonderful successes in the game.” Now as he nears his 50th birthday Wayne has taken on the role as president of the Golden Square Cricket Club and is also a board member of the Bendigo District Cricket Association. “Right now we have the opportunity for new ideas to come in to play and get more involvement from the clubs,” he said. “Perhaps we could look at a Twenty20 cricket competition next summer and dressing up the 50 over games with a circle and some coloured clothing to lift the game. “We also need to break down the communication barriers between Melbourne and country regions,’’ Wayne said.
