HE’S been involved in cricket his whole life and dedicated so much of his time to a sport he loves and is passionate about.
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So it’s no wonder Stephen Cain was named the winner of Cricket NSW’s A Sport For All Community Cricket Awards ambassador of the year on April 6.
He said he was shocked and excited when he found out about his accolade.
“I didn’t know much about the award, but to be acknowledged for doing something you love is fantastic,” he said.
Cain has been playing cricket since he was six and was involved with the formation of the Bathurst Bushrangers Cricket Club in 2006.
He was the president for the majority of the club’s existence, but has since passed the reins on.
“We’ve had our ups and downs, but it’s been fun,” he said.
“I’m also vice-president of Bathurst Junior District Cricket Association and I’m on the committee for the senior cricket.
“As well, I’ve coached cricket for the last 15 years at the junior level.”
One achievement that gives him pride and one that went a long way to securing his ambassador of the year award was the establishment of an all-girls Bushrangers team.
“For the past two years, we’ve had an entirely girls team in the Bathurst men’s competition,” he said.
“It’s really been a great asset for the club.
“The first year was in Presidents Cup and this year we put them in third grade.
“While they weren’t competitive all the time, they had a lot of fun.”
With assistance from Cricket NSW, Cain was involved in the creation of an all-girls cricket competition in Bathurst.
“We held it on Wednesday night and over the summer we had 11 teams compete in the competition,” he said.
“It was the biggest of its kind in regional NSW. It’s unreal.”
Cain said it had been satisfying to watch the club he helped establish grow.
“We’ve had great players and lost them to first grade clubs, but we’ve just kept going and we’re enjoying cricket,” he said.
“That’s one of the reasons we started the club - to be family-oriented.
“It’s a lot of fun, especially for the kids, to help keep them involved.
“Seeing kids develop over a period of time within the club, there’s definitely some satisfaction in that.”
Cain grew up in Bathurst and began playing cricket as a six-year-old.
He resided in Bathurst until he left school, then lived in Sydney.
He worked at the Sydney Cricket Ground and Sydney Football Stadium as a contract manager that looked after the cleaning and maintenance.
“I rubbed shoulders with some pretty great cricket players over the time,” he said.
But he’s continued his involvement in cricket, saying it’s a great sport to play and in which to be involved.
“I’ve made some great friends. Cricket is a sport you can play whether you’re six or 66,” he said.
“My father loved cricket and he played his last game for Bushrangers Cricket Club when he was 69, three weeks before he passed away.
“It doesn’t matter how old you are, you can always get out there and have a go.”
And while he said he was humbled to receive the award, Cain said there were plenty of people who did as much or more work than him.
“There are 100 people in every town that do something like this in cricket,” he said.
“To be acknowledged is fantastic, but there are so many people worthy of the same award.
“Campbell Graham from the Bathurst District Cricket Association has done so much for cricket over the last six years to make cricket great again.”