Patrick Lindsay
By Rob Lavery
Pat came to the Bears in earnest in 2009/10 and, since then, has been one of the club’s most reliable on-field performers. He started in sixth grade and has played every senior men’s grade over the ensuing years. in 2012/13 he claimed first grade cap 633 and his overall statistics speak of a player who has been unfortunate not to play more top grade cricket.
In 170 matches for the club Pat has claimed 351 wickets at 18.79. He has taken 13 5-fors including 2 8-fors. I was fortunate enough to be in the team for Pat’s best bowling analysis of 8/45 against Fairfield-Liverpool at Fairfield Oval. As skipper, he also had me bowling around the wicket into the number 11’s ribs – no quarter was given.
If you’ve played with him, you know the pure joy of watching him set up a right-hander with a couple of genuinely turning deliveries only to deliver the hammer blow with the sliding straight one that blows the batsman’s front pad off. When the deck is flat, you can be confident knowing Pat will roll through 25-30 challenging overs in the middle of the day and will be working the batters over in the process – probably while wearing a sleeveless sweater in 35 degree heat.
His fondness for Michael Slater’s flamboyant off-side game has probably cost Pat a few runs in the grand scheme of things, but of his 928 runs for the Bears, his top score of 44 was Pat’s game at its most magnificent, blasted from just 32 balls from number 11.
Pat has skippered 5s to 2s at the club – securing the club the David Sherwood Cup in 2019/20 for the first time in 45 years. He has always been willing to lead and nurture younger players and to put the club and the team’s needs before his own. In this vein, it is through his off-field actions that Pat has truly set himself apart.
Since 2014/15 when the club was truly struggling, Pat has been involved in every imaginable aspect of the club’s operation. Pat is coming up to his 10th season on the committee, he has served 7 seasons as Honorary Secretary and last season as President. Pat’s defining feature is his shrewd decision-making, and his keen sense for the wisest course of action has seen the club rise from its nadir to one of the better run grade clubs in a remarkably short period of time.
No one has given more hours to the Bears over the past 8 years. whether it was managing the club’s relationship with the SCA, operating as a selector (surely one of the toughest jobs at the club), working on player recruitment, managing major relationships (such as UTS and our sponsors), organising Green Shield and junior development, supporting PGs or doing one of a thousand other tasks – Pat has always been working to make this club a better place. His presence and intelligence is a given – and is easy to take for granted. Which is why it is crucial we, as a club, take this moment to appreciate all he has contributed to the Bears.
As such, on behalf of the committee, it is my great pleasure to nominate a man who gives tirelessly of himself for the Bears, Patrick Lindsay, for life membership of the North Sydney District Cricket Club.