VETERAN MURRAY BACK ON THE BALL
JASON Murray was finished. Done and dusted.
Injuries had cruelled him and he could no longer withstand the rigours of top grade.
But barely six months after pulling the pin at St AlbansBreakwater, where he spent 10 years and played in two first XI premierships, Murray is back in the fray.
At first, he was only back in a coaching capacity at Meredith, accepting the role as nonplaying coach. However, things have changed for the 42-year-old as he enters his 25th season of senior cricket.
“Everyone knew I was going to give it away, but my stepson (Xavier Jarvis) was begging me to play more cricket,” Murray said. “I spoke to the president, Brendan Wild, about playing a couple of games if I felt like it and one thing led to another.
“They approached me about being a non-playing coach and it went from there.
“I thought to myself, cricket’s been a big part of my life and I’m not sure I can do this (coach) and not go around again.
“Then I started thinking about playing a couple of games and now it’s going to lead into more than a couple of games now.”
Captaining St AlbansBreakwater in trying circumstances last season, Murray also battled on a personal front, playing just nine matches and scoring 252 runs and 15 wickets.
“I just kept getting injured,” Murray said.
“I had a back problem which made me do my hamstring every time I came back and it got me thinking I should retire. But then I finished the last five games with no injuries, but it was a pretty frustrating three-quarters of the year with that injury problem, but I think I’m on top of it now.”
A journeyman who began his career at Corio as a 16-yearold and ventured to Alexander Thomson and Newcomb, Murray returns to Meredith this season to lead the charge in the GCA’s Division 1 thirds.
“I believe it’s a really strong competition,” Murray said.
“We’re going to find it quite hard, but I still believe we’ll be competitive and win a few games, no doubt. I’ve played a lot of competitions over my time, and knowing the names of a lot of players, it’s a solid competition. A lot of the older players who have played a lot of Division 1 firsts have dropped back and we’ve got a lot of inexperienced guys, so they will be no pushovers.
“I just don’t believe there will be any easy games for us at all. The young guys will learn a lot about the game.”
Murray said Meredith had retained a bulk of its senior list as it prepares to compete against fellow former GCA3 club Lethbridge and thirdgrade sides from St Joseph’s, Bell Post Hill, East Belmont, Grovedale, Leopold, North Geelong, South Barwon, Geelong City, Lara and Newtown & Chilwell.