Local cricketers inspired by visit of Australian Test legend

THEY might be generations apart but if anyone could teach these kids how to take more wickets in a match, it would this man: former Australian Test cricketer Geoff Dymock.

The veteran paceman holds the enviable record as one of just a handful of bowlers to dismiss all 11 batsmen in a Test match. He stopped by the Central Highlands for a skills and drills coaching clinic on Tuesday.

Dymock said what many modern-day pundits didn't realise about that record-equalling 1979 Test match in India (where he finished with phenomenal figures of 12/166) was that one innings prior, he copped an absolute hammering - smashed for 1/87.

It wasn't until the end of the day's play and a few words of comfort from then-wicketkeeper Kevin Wright, that Dymock's fortune changed for the better.

"He came up to me and said, and I still remember it now because it was very touching, 'Geoff, that was the gutsiest performance I have ever seen on a cricket field'," Dymock said.

These days, Dymock spends his time visiting schools and cricket clubs around the country. From his first-hand experience as a 17-year-old cricketer in country Queensland, he knows hearing from a pro can have a profound impact. "A fast bowler, Len Pascoe, turned up at my school and gave us a few points," he said.

"I went home, practised, and not long after was making representative sides."