IT has been a big season at Strathfieldsaye for milestones, and another one will be reached tomorrow when Kristian Rogers plays his 300th Bendigo District Cricket Association game for the club.
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No player has played more games for the Jets since they joined the BDCA from the Emu Valley Cricket Association in 1984-85 than Rogers.
The 41-year-old all-rounder first played for the club in 1988-89 and hasn’t missed a season since, clocking up 115 games in the first XI, 134 in the second XI and 51 in the third XI.
Throughout his career Rogers has made 6114 runs – the most by any Jets player in the BDCA – and taken close to 300 wickets
And he’s showing no signs of slowing down, as he proved in the second XI game against Eaglehawk last round when he made 90, which took his tally of runs for the season to 331, while he has also taken 20 wickets.
“I’m really enjoying playing with the young blokes... it means they can chase the ball out to the boundary,” Rogers said. “I still enjoy going out and playing on a Saturday afternoon and it’s a great club to be part of.”
Rogers, who has a highest first XI score of 102 and will play his milestone game against Bendigo at Tannery Lane, has been part of premiership teams in each of the Jets’ first, second and third XI and is a life member of the club.
He has been the second XI club champion four times and in 1997-98 was the recipient of the club’s Ken Yates Award.
Also having reached milestones in the BDCA for the Jets this season have been Greg Lyon (200 first XI games) and Chris Cullen (200 club games). Cullen is the captain of the Jets’ second XI side, and has taken the most BDCA wickets in the second XI for the club with 193.
Cullen, also a Jets’ life member who played his 200th game in round nine against Eaglehawk, is the only Jets player to have taken at least 75 wickets in each of the three senior grades.
As well as having played more than 500 games between them for the Jets, Rogers and Cullen also went to school together at Catholic College Bendigo.
Strathfieldsaye president Brent Yates said Rogers and Cullen were both loyal servants of the club who are now helping to bring through the next generation of players at the Jets.
“They have both played at all levels and given 100 per cent each time they’ve stepped on the cricket field,” Yates said.
“They play with a lot of passion and have been through both the eras of success and harder times and we at the club certainly appreciates what they have done.
“Now they are helping to bring through that next generation of players, which they once were themselves, so it has come full circle and they have been fantastic, loyal servants of the club.”