MILESTONE BRINGS ‘MIXED EMOTIONS’ FLAG DREAM DRIVES CAT
THE lure of a premiership is the reason behind Hayden Butterworth’s decision to continue playing Premier Cricket as he prepares to celebrate his 200th match.
The champion all-rounder will reach the milestone, achieved at two clubs, on Saturday when Geelong hosts Ringwood.
Butterworth, 33, is a multiple club champion and the round 5 fixture will be his 163rd in Cats colours after spending two seasons with Footscray.
He said he needed a fresh start when he left Geelong at the end of the 2015-16 season. “Not a lot of people know about it,” Butterworth said of why he joined Footscray.
“It was more outside of cricket – the hierarchy of Geelong at the time.
“There were a few changes there that butted heads with me and I was kind of at a little bit of a crossroads.
“I was in and out of the (state) second XI stuff and treading water. I needed a bit of a break from Geelong and it made it a little bit easier with some hierarchy decisions.”
Butterworth returned to Geelong before the 2018-19 campaign and received Team of the Year honours for the first time the following season.
He said the decision to leave Footscray was made to reignite his passion for the sport.
“I pictured going there and having a refresh and making a squillion runs, and pushing my name back into state selection, but that didn’t happen,” he said.
“I had a good crack there for a couple of years but the travel commitment started to become just a bit too much on me.
“You drive up by yourself, back by yourself. I just stopped really enjoying my cricket.
“I’d wake up in the morning and
go, ‘Why am I doing this to myself?’
“I’ve loved every minute being back here, because it’s second fiddle to my life at the moment and all the younger guys coming up, I’m helping them as much as they’re helping me along.”
Butterworth joined Geelong from Ocean Grove before the 2005-06 season and worked his way up the grades from the fourths.
His top-grade debut came in 2010-11 and he has since made 5700 runs, including six first XI centuries, and had three five-wicket hauls, including match figures of 11-99 against Kingston Hawthorn in 2019-20 in an outright victory.
Butterworth said he reached the milestone with “mixed emotions” as he was proud of his longevity but disappointed he was yet to taste premiership success.
He said he would continue to play as long as Geelong was a flag contender.
“I’ve always maintained that every year we’ve got a competitive team to get to the pointy end, I’ll still play and if I’m still relevant in that team,” he said. “If I didn’t think we had the side to play, I’d really have to weigh up the stuff you have to commit for Premier Cricket.”