Whanganui cricket: Chris Sharrock notches huge milestone

Chris Sharrock receives his 50th game cap from Cricket Whanganui stalwart Eric Head at Tasman Tanning (Victoria) Park on Saturday.

Wicketkeeper Chris Sharrock traded his blue cap for a black one as he was recognised for his 50th game for Riverview Motel Whanganui on Saturday.

Sharrock was in the Whanganui XI for the match with Subway Manawatu, having previously played 49 two-day Furlong Cup and one-day Chapple Cup games for Whanganui - starting in his final year at Whanganui High School in the summer of 2013.

“It’s been a whole lot of fun. Had plenty of downs but also had a lot of ups as well, those ups are why we play,” Sharrock said of his near decade of playing for Whanganui.

“It’s great to be around the boys. We’ve got a great bunch of guys now, and over those years I’ve played with a number of awesome guys in a number of really cool teams as well,” he said.

“We play for the results, obviously, but at the end of the day it comes down to the company we play with and we’ve always had a pretty good group of guys and that always makes it worth coming back every year and putting in the graft, the days in the dirt under the sun.”

A sports co-ordinator at Massey University, Sharrock has balanced his local cricket commitments around a successful badminton career as player and coach.

One of the few young veterans in the Whanganui side who has played through his twenties, he was elevated to the captaincy last year, before the return of Greg Smith from England for this season.

Among the career highlights was his match-winning 104 not out in December 2015 against Horowhenua-Kapiti - a performance he dedicated to his grandfather, local cycling stalwart Gordon Sharrock, who had recently passed away.

There would also be a couple more half centuries against Horowhenua-Kapiti, while Sharrock would also enjoy success at New Plymouth’s iconic Pukekura Park.

There was his fighting 61 not out to bring Whanganui back into their January 2018 match with Taranaki, leading to their first win in the fixture in decades.

Three years later he did it again with a crucial 75 in a partnership with Central Districts professional Ben Smith to set up another first-innings victory.

“I think that was about a 195-run partnership and we were in a bit of strife with not too many wickets left when I came in and we put that partnership together that won us the game,” Sharrock said.

“I think that’s the only time I ever batted for 50 overs, but it was great to just be out there with Ben, someone of his quality, and spending that time in the middle with him.

“Other than personal ones, the ones you remember more are the wins, even first-innings wins, that’s what we want to play for.

“At the end of the day, if I score zero and I’m in a team that does well, I’m going to take that every day.”

Remembering important teammates over his 50 games, Sharrock acknowledged former captain-coach Dominic Rayner as one of the senior players he looked up to.

“I came in right when Dom was, he would say, starting to tail off a little bit, but he was still right up there in terms of the quality he was putting out.

“Certainly Dogger [Mark Fraser] and the likes of Ben [Smith] and Akash [Gill] and Akhil [Kumar] and a couple of guys we’ve had from here and there.

“Of course, of late having Greg [Smith] back in around the boys. It’s really good to have a few of those boys around.”

Sharrock’s family was in attendance to watch him bat and keep wickets on Saturday.

“It was good to have them here, they only just made it. I was away for my debut in Hawke’s Bay and I was away for my 25th in Wairarapa,” he said.

“So this was the first presentation of any sort that they’ve been able to attend. Nice for them to be around the boys a bit and see what it’s all about.”