Cricket pioneer Greg James walks down memory lane while pushing Indigenous teams into the present

A classy top-order batter and a trusty medium-pace bowler, James has lived and breathed cricket all his life.

His undying passion has paid dividends as well as he was part of the 1988 all-Indigenous cricket team that travelled to England.

It was a replica tour of the original Indigenous cricket team that sailed to the United Kingdom in 1868 as the first Australian cricket team to play in England.

James also founded his own Indigenous side in Shepparton under the Rumbalara name in the 1980s, which won three consecutive C-grade grand finals, but he said was refused promotion by Shepparton Cricket Association.

Nearly 40 years later, James is still pioneering cricket for Indigenous people, this time looking after the well-seasoned veterans whose heartbeat sounds like a middled Kookaburra.

The first Indigenous over-55 cricket side travelled to Mackay in Queensland in April to compete in a tri-series against Australia and New Zealand.

Although James missed the application cut-off to be part of the playing squad, he was invited, due to his cricket credentials, to be the team’s manager.

The tournament was marred by typical Queensland monsoons, with only a limited amount of time spent in the middle, but James said that didn’t stop the group of Indigenous cricketers and their families from experiencing special moments representing their people in the game they love.

“We had our ceremony where we all received our Australian baggy caps, that was a pretty emotional time for a lot of people,” James said.

“Because some of the players received their caps, it was the first time, and getting a baggy cap is an absolute honour and a privilege.

“For some of the guys, it was emotional because they come from stolen generations or had misfortunate backgrounds.

“As the manager, I was presenting half the players with their caps.

“We had a number of people at the ceremony and they were even sitting there crying, it was pretty amazing; the feeling in the room was incredible.”

Only a handful of games were played at the over-55 tournament, but the tri-series was labelled a success and gave the green light for the Indigenous side to play in future tournaments as a Cricket Australia-sanctioned side.

James is now working to get sponsorship on board for future tours, including another edition of the tri-series in New Zealand next year and a mini-world cup-style tournament in Mildura in September.

“A Canadian side is coming over, there is also a Pakistan and India, Australia and New Zealand and our team playing in a similar competition for two weeks (in Mildura),” he said.

“The trip to Mackay was funded by ourselves, so I am trying to take that burden off them and get sponsors for Mildura and New Zealand.

“Now we are sanctioned and have been accepted by (Veterans Cricket Australia), so we are part of the touring circuit.”

Before James set off as part of the Indigenous side that would tour the UK in 1988, the team had to play a Prime Minister’s XI match in Sydney.

Then-Australian Prime Minister Bob Hawke was part of an all-star PM’s XI line-up that included Dennis Lillee, Ian Chappell and Max Walker.

James said the friendly match had some unwritten rules for Hawke that the players were expected to abide by.

“We were told, ‘No, no, no, if a catch comes to you, leave (Hawke) out there’, (but) he couldn’t bat for shit,” he said with a laugh.

“In the end, I said ‘stuff this, he has gotta get out’, so I took the catch.

“He was walking past me and he said, ‘What’s your name, young man? You won’t get a passport out of Australia'.

“I said, ‘Bad luck, I already have one, go and put the urn on’.”

All the competitive ribbing was done in good jest and Hawke was a great supporter of the team.

But before James and his compatriots could set off on their journey to pay homage to their ancestors, the team had to pad up against an ageing, but still ferocious, Lillee.

James said walking out to open the batting was one of the most nervous moments he had had in cricket.

“Lillee was such a clever bowler, he worked out our strengths and weaknesses within the first over; he bowled at our ribs and tucked us up," he said.

“Third ball I square drove him for four and I ran up the other end and he turns to me and says, ‘Good shot you effing hayseed’.

“I’ve gone, ‘Thanks Mr Lillee’; what batsman would say thank you after being called an effing hayseed?”

Despite hearing the ball fizz past his head on multiple occasions, James pushed on and before he knew it — with the legendary Ernie Dingo loudly cheering each run as the game’s MC — he was closing in on a 50.

“I’m just a teacher from Shepparton, in front of 15,000-16,000 people, facing Dennis Lillee with a helicopter (filming overhead),” he said.

“I was sitting on 48 or 49 for a few overs; I got stuck and was nervous.

“(Dingo) was hyping it up saying, ‘Well fellas, if Greggy gets his 50 he would be the first black fella to make a 50’.

"Ian Chappell came up to me and he said, ‘Greggy, you have played a great innings so far, you have to get this 50, be patient, put the ear muffs on and block it all out and wait for the ball to come to you’.

“Three or four balls later and I got the 50 and the crowd were going bananas.

“I was the first Indigenous player to make a 50 in a game sanctioned by Cricket Australia.”