Many peaks across 400 Albany and Districts Cricket Association games for local cricket legend Keith Kinnear

In a remarkable feat, Manypeaks’ Keith Kinnear will strap on his pads and roll his arm over for the 400th time in the Albany and Districts Cricket Association on Sunday. A career that started as a 31-year-old fill-in player in the 1994-95 season has turned into something much bigger, with Kinnear becoming the first player to reach the milestone at his club. He is staring down the barrel of another major achievement against Collingwood Park in round four of the ADCA C-grade competition, needing only four more wickets to reach 600. Currently sitting on 596 wickets and about 6700 runs, it has been quite the career for Kinnear so far. He has also played 43 games for Albany at country week. The all-rounder said playing 400 games for Manypeaks would be a special moment. “To me it’s been a major part of my life. It’s awesome, I can’t wait until Sunday,” Kinnear said. “It’s been a long journey but a good one. “I started in the 94-95 season as a fill-in and ended up playing every game and have probably missed 10 games in 25 years since. “I started out with B-grade originally then we put an A-grade team in which I was the first captain, then it was back to Bs and now we are helping the kids out in Cs. “I’m four wickets away from 600 so with a bit of luck I might be able to do that on Sunday too. “I want to say a big thank you to all our club members that have made our cricket so easy on the journey.” Kinnear has played 150 A-grade games among the 400 for Manypeaks and won seven premierships in his time — four B-grade, two C-grade and one representing Albany at country week. The veteran said he still had a few years left. “I have another young bloke and he’s nine and he wants me to be playing when he’s playing, so I have another five years to go,” the 58-year-old said. “Playing A-grade in the early 2000s with my sons Ryan and Brent all in one team was a major highlight. “We have won a few good premierships along the way, our very first one in 1998-99 I was captain of in the Bs. “Even last year’s C-grade premiership came out of nowhere so that’s a highlight and then a few country week ones they were also really good. “Cricket is just good fun. You get to bat, get to bowl, I love fielding and just the camaraderie with all the lifetime friends.” Manypeaks president Jeremy Stewart said 400 games at one club was an inspiration feat. He described Kinnear as a “role model” and a “legend of our club”. “The first one of our club to achieve it means a lot,” he said. “It inspires others that anything is possible when you apply yourself. Keith started playing cricket a lot later in life and reaching 400 games is testament to his endurance, commitment and dedication to the game of cricket in the region but also a reflection on how much he loves the game.”

Many peaks across 400 Albany and Districts Cricket Association games for local cricket legend Keith Kinnear

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