Great Southern guns — blasts from the past: Albany cricket Colin Penter in rare air after scoring a century in Sheffield Shield debut

The suspension of sport amid the coronavirus crisis has given the Advertiser the opportunity to look back at some of the region’s finest sporting talent from yesteryear. This week in our Great Southern guns – blasts from the past series, we tell the remarkable story of Albany cricketer Colin Penter. Albany cricketer Colin Penter rubbed shoulders with some of the greats of the game and his first match for WA will long be remembered, joining a rare group of players who scored a century on debut. Picked as a spin bowler in the Sheffield Shield clash with NSW at the Sydney Cricket Ground, Penter batted at No.7 and peeled off a remarkable century against a fearsome bowling outfit led by tearaway Test quick Len Pascoe. Penter was born in Albany and spent his first 17 years growing up in an era of strong country cricketers, playing as a young kid for Royals and then County Park. His grandfather Jack, father Ted and two brothers Kevan and Graham were all involved in cricket and naturally Colin went on to pursue his love for the game at a higher level. Trips up from Albany on the train each Friday night to Perth arriving in the early morning and playing grade cricket later that day for Mt Lawley helped drive Penter’s ambition to play for WA. But his WA debut was a long time coming, years in fact, as Penter spent season after season trying to crack into the State first XI in a period of immense depth at the WACA. After moving to grade club University, Penter spent four or five seasons in a WA squad that trained a couple of times a week at the WACA Ground. He played for the WA colts side, their second XI, but it wasn’t until 1977 as World Series Cricket came on the scene that Penter sensed an opportunity to break into the first XI. Penter travelled to Adelaide in the 1977-78 season but ended up being 12th man and his wait continued. The following season Penter was captain-coach of North Perth and enjoyed a strong season with bat and ball which resulted in him finally breaking into the WA side. Picked for a two-match Eastern States tour, the SCG was where Penter’s brilliant debut came to fruition. Penter made 112 and celebrated his century with close friend and mentor Tony Mann as WA made 431 in the first innings. The impressive ton came against a fired-up Pascoe while NSW’s attack also featured Doug Walters, Kerry O’Keeffe and Gary Gilmour, who all played Test cricket for Australia. WA went on to lose the match by five wickets as Penter made nine runs in the second innings while he took 1-81 from 17.1 overs in the NSW second innings as they chased down victory. Penter said his first match for WA was worth the wait. “The first four or five years in the WA squad I was never a chance of playing,” Penter said. “Just training with those guys was significant. “WA’s great strength was they had such depth at that time and I was just fortune in that regard to get an opportunity. “Thinking back at (my debut) it was a pretty special day, a hundred on debut and I was a leg-spinner that batted a bit. “To bat in front of Tony Mann, who made a century the year before for Australia, was hard to believe and he ended up being a significant mentor for me. Tony and I had a partnership of 132 that day and in some ways I value that just as much, it stood as one of the higher partnerships for that wicket so that was special. “One of the things I remember the most was Len Pascoe, he was an intimidating figure and he went pretty hard at me. I was fortunate the pitch was pretty flat.” Penter was never able to secure a permanent place in the WA team, playing eight first-class matches in total where he scored 286 runs and took five wickets. “I crashed back to earth after my debut,” he said. “I had a shocker in Brisbane, dropped two catches, didn’t bowl and made two runs, and fielding on the boundary copped it from the crowd. “I was never really able to secure a spot, when I did play my performances were hot and cold and I was always fighting for my spot. My last game was against India when they were touring. “I played a bit more grade cricket but I’d had enough at 27-28 which was quite young and I think I finished roughly in ‘84 because I’d basically been playing cricket every weekend since I was 10 or 11.” Penter said playing against and with some of the greats was hard to believe. “I faced Jeff Thomson and played at the SCG against guys like Doug Walters,” he said. “The best bowler I faced in Shield cricket was Richard Hadley who was playing for Tasmania in those days, we played him at the WACA and I found him extremely difficult. “The greatest bowler for mine was (Dennis) Lillee, he was such a competitor and would just find ways to get you out in the nets. In terms of batters Ian Chappell was still playing Shield cricket and he made 100 against us at the Adelaide Oval and made it look pretty easy. “Also Joe Menegola was a phenomenal player to come out of Albany, he was a very unique bowler and dominated Albany and country cricket for so long as a great leg-spinner.” Penter was also an accomplished footballer, playing colts and reserves for Claremont after winning a league premiership locally with Royals as a teenager. Approaching his 65th birthday Penter, lives with his partner and has a son and stepchildren, and works in the mental health sector. He said Albany would always hold a dear place in his heart and was a great platform to achieve his cricket dreams. “My cricket career is about more than personal performances,” he said. “The people you meet and the people who play a role in shaping who we are and what we achieved and the people whose voluntary involvement made it all possible. “My family have been in Albany since the early 1900s and I played football and cricket there in my early sporting time. “I greatly cherish my time in Albany and living there you had a responsibility to contribute back to the community.” Penter is one of the few players from Albany to have played Shield cricket in a WACA cap.