He might not have taken a hanger at the MCG or hit a six in an Ashes test , but Angaston ’ s Greg Bain is proving just as inspirational .

Greg is one of those home grown talents whose passion for cricket and football was nurtured at grassroots level . Now , at nearly 30 years of age , he ’ s determined to give back to the two Angaston clubs that have helped shape the man he is today .

Bursting onto the cricketing scene as one of the youngest Angaston Cricket Club players in history to debut in a senior side , Greg surprised everyone when he scored 142 not out as a fill-in for the A3 team .

“ I was eight when I played my first senior match ,” says Greg , nicknamed “ Bainy ” by his mates for obvious reasons .

Even his dad , former Angaston cricketer , Steve “ Bundy ” Bain couldn ’ t believe how young his lad was when he took to the crease that day . Greg had to unearth a clipping from The Leader dated November 1 , 1997 , before he was convinced .

“ He couldn ’ t have been very big !” laughs Bundy recalling the

innings out on the Nuriootpa High School oval - he was playing in the same team . “ I made 32 . I pulled a hamstring and retired hurt and he just kept going . I ’ ve never heard the end of it I can tell you !”

Greg was born to play sport because , as Bundy explains , “ it ’ s in the genes ”.

“ We come from a pretty strong sporting family on both sides and it ’ s just continued on ,” Bundy says .

Whilst Greg never saw his dad strap on the footy boots for Centrals back in the day , it was Bundy , a trainer for the Panthers , who inspired him to take up the sport . And as a youngster , Greg spent nearly every weekend watching his father play cricket and his older sisters play netball , so it was inevitable he would want to get involved too .

“ I started playing football around the same age as cricket ,” explains Greg .

His first memories of donning the blue and white was in the modifieds during the A-Grade half time break . He continued up through the ranks and hadn ’ t quite

turned 17 before he played his first A-Grade footy match .

“ Summer was cricket , winter was football , that ’ s the way it was all the way through pretty much ,” says Greg .

Meanwhile , Greg attended Nuriootpa High School and admitted it really wasn ’ t his thing so when an apprentice carpenter / builder position with C O Juncken became available , he jumped at the opportunity .

He ’ s been with Juncken ’ s for 11 years now .

“ I guess I am competitive in everything I do . Even at work I ’ m pretty full on . That ’ s my nature .”

Greg ’ s talent for cricket continued to shine . He played in Junior state competitions in Under 15s , 17s and 19s and after three years of playing A-Grade for Angaston , ended up at Northern Districts for seven years where he was given the chance to play county cricket in the UK .

“ I was probably about 21-22 at the time … I thought it was a good opportunity to play in different conditions , pretty much fight for myself and get away from my

comfort zone over here .”

Greg spent six months playing for Bexley in the county of Kent , returning the following season for another six .

“ We think we love cricket over here but they are next level .

“ It definitely improved my game and opened my eyes … The pressure of being overseas and having that real drive to succeed was good .

“ I probably would have kept going but after two years my visa ran out !”

By now , Greg had met his future wife , Kylie through friends back home in the Barossa and she was playing netball for the Panthers .

Winter Saturdays were spent playing footy with his best mates and he captained the side for three years chasing that ever elusive Premiership Cup .

After a two-year break from cricket to re-ignite his passion for the game , Greg decided to return to the club where it all began . He rejoined the Angaston A-Grade side as Vice-Captain with a new mindset , more experience and a fresh