Fitzsimmons goes everywhere, man
THOSE old enough to know who Lucky Starr is should easily relate to the journeys of veteran Gold Coast cricketer Sean Fitzsimmons.
Starr was an Australian folk and pop singer of the 1960s whose main claim to fame was a hit single titled I’ve Been Everywhere.
In the song, in the space of three minutes or so, Starr rattled off the names of 92 Australian towns and cities.
Fitzsimmons, 39, has managed to visit nowhere near that number but it is a credit to the right-handed batsman’s longevity that he is heading into his 13th appearance for Queensland at the Australian Country Championships.
It all started in 2006 in Mandurah, Western Australia and next month Fitzsimmons will head west again for the carnival at Geraldton, five hours north of Perth.
What is more, his parents Ross and Carol will be there to cheer him on – as they have done every year since 2007.
It is a strong family bond that the Fitsimmons have, to the extent that Carol has meticulously maintained scorecards of every Sean innings.
“I have done so (kept personal score sheets) ever since
Sean was 10,” Carol admitted.
“It’s better than just sitting there staring at the game and trying to keep a mental record of what’s happening.”
Carol and Ross missed the first of Fitzsimmons’s Country Carnival engagements but have been there for every one since – travelling in their campervan to places such as Bunbury, Geelong, Mt Gambier, the Barossa Valley, Bundaberg and Albury-Wodonga among other places.
“We’ll be leaving around December 29 and go to Broken Hill, to South Australia, across the Nullarbor to Kalgoorlie and from there to Geraldton,” Carol said. “It’s me, Ross and our dog Floyd.”
Sean has risen to second all-time runs-scorer at the Country titles, behind only the great Darling Downs batsman Brian May and has been named Australian Country cap seven times. When will it end? “I’ve been saying every year that this will be the last but I’ve kept performing,” Fitzsimmons said.
“So I’m not going to say this will be my last.”
There are five Gold Coast players in the Queensland Country side – Fitzsimmons (Broadbeach Robina), Sam Winton, Harry Winton and Jimmy Spargo (Queens) and Chris Hall (Burleigh).