22 | T H E B A R OSSA M AG
>> Kylie and Greg Bain with their son Henry.
hunger to do his home team proud
and share the knowledge he had
gained. Adelaide in a neck brace. That was
really bad, I don’t remember that
last one too much.
Success followed and today,
“Bainy” is recognised as the pre-
eminent batsman of Barossa &
Light Cricket Association, winning
a John L. Mosey Medal and
claiming four premierships in as
many years, two as vice-captain
and two as captain. This season he’s
taking on the role of captain/club
coach as he seeks a fifth title. “They said I had a little fracture in
the neck which is something you
really don’t want to hear.”
Yet his other sporting love, football
came to an abrupt halt following a
cruel twist of fate.
“I had three really bad
concussions,” explains Greg.
“The first time was a fair bit
behind play. That was pretty scary
actually. Not just for me. My family
was there, Kylie was there… I was
knocked out and went to hospital.”
Greg would receive another
concussion, then a third the
following season.
“I ended up going to Angaston
Hospital and then to the Royal
It was revealed the fractured
vertebrae was twelve months old,
suggesting it was done the previous
season. Greg’s specialists said tough
decisions had to be made as he
recovered from symptoms that
lasted several weeks.
“Three or four years ago the issue
of concussion was just starting to
come out, but not really a massive
issue like you see now.
“Today you would probably
make the decision not to play
a lot quicker. The right people
supported me at the time. There
are probably a lot of people who
don’t understand and still don’t
understand why I gave it away.
But, I knew in my own head
that the time was right.
“It was upsetting. Watching the
last game of the season I was
emotional as, walking away
>> Three generations; Greg, Henry and Steve 'Bundy' Bain.
from the lads for the last time.
“I think that’s the hardest thing. My
really good mates are still playing
but I can’t.”
Greg has not been able to bring
himself to watch footy since.
But for now, Greg is fully focused
on giving back to his cricket club,
ensuring his leadership brings
consistency across all grades so
their current success continues well
into the future.
“I’ve had to give myself some
space. It is just hard to go and
watch because you want to be a
part of it and you are not. “I took footy for granted for a
period and when you lose that...
Cricket is it now, I don’t want to
take that for granted because it can
finish as quickly as it started.
“I’m probably almost past that now
and want to get back involved. I still
have a lot to give.” “There’s a big hunger at the cricket
club to keep doing well and keep
winning.”
Greg says he will return to the
Panthers in a coaching capacity
one day because he’s got unfinished
business – a footy Premiership. Whilst Greg is committed to his
cricket club, there is another love
in his life. He’s just become a dad
for the first time to a son named
Henry.
“That’s what’s driving me to do
something with football, something
that I couldn’t win as a player. It
doesn’t matter if you are a player or
a coach, you’re involved - you win
together,” he says.
“I’ll get back into it, it’s just a
different direction. I am still
looking forward to as much as
I did before.”
“It puts everything into perspective.
Brings the best out of you, puts a
smile on your face even if you do
think of bad times,” says Greg.
“Henry is pretty much everything
now.”
Watch out, it looks like there’s a
new baby Panther on the prowl.