Kerry O’Keeffe had an audience of over 150 people in stitches last week.
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O’Keeffe was a guest speaker at the Bega Cheese Celebration of 150 Years of Cricket in the Bega Valley night at the Bega Golf Club.
Organisers of the night said there was no shortage of jokes and old stories coming from the cheerful ABC commentator.
The night was held to celebrate history of organised cricket in the Bega Valley and was coordinated by Dave Allen.
Bega-Angledale Cricket Club’s John Dedman said O’Keeffe’s talks during the night were really entertaining, and informative.
“His presentation was fuelled by his knowledge of the cricket scene and he used a range of players and countries as topics to entertain, and yes, the famous laugh was most evident,” Dedman said.
“He used comments like ‘imagine how many wickets Richard Hadlee the great New Zealand fast bowler would have taken if he could have played against New Zealand!’,” he said.
The night also included a raffle to support the development of junior cricket in the region.
The major prize was a signed Australian Test shirt donated by the Merimbula Knights, a signed NSW bat and playing jumper and a Mike Hussey signed Sydney Thunder bat donated by local business.
While drawing the raffle, O’Keeffe joked that the Sydney Thunder bat looked “brand new” despite having been used six times as the team kept a “modest record”.
O’Keeffe retold the tale about his first TV show appearance on ABC sports program “The Fat”.
With just 15 seconds left to air, he was asked his view of Australian wicket keeper Adam Gilchrist – his one line reply, that Gilchrist was an “inspiration to kids everywhere who were pulled from their mother’s womb by the ears” brought tears of laughter to the faces in the audience.
O’Keeffe also spoke of his experiences with some of the icons of the game including Don Bradman, Sachin Tendulkar, Shane Warne, Dennis Lillee and Sir Garfield Sobers, with an often hilarious, unexpected twist to many of these tales.
Former local players Wayne “Stumpy” Douch, Steven Clark and Keith Wyatt gave an expert review of some of the historical aspects of local cricket.
After dessert was served, O’Keeffe joined the crowd in a question and answer session.
Dedman said he still kept the mood light.
“He spoke factually, but he still slipped in some unique comical replies,” Dedman said.
“But, more seriously, he is predicting that Australia will win the World Cup next March being held in Australia.
“He also believes that David Warner and Mitchell Johnson are so good that they will help keep Australia at the top of world cricket for the next few years.”
O’Keeffe wrapped up the night by telling the audience about his upcoming 2GB radio show on Sunday afternoons.
With the football seasons coming to a close, organisers of the night said it was a wonderful prelude to the start of the cricket season.
The Bega-Angledale Cricket Club has started training Thursday nights at the nets on George Griffin Oval, Bega.
“The club is looking for players of all standards and ages as well as junior players, coaches and managers,” Dedman said.
“If you are interested, simply turn up at training or go to the Bega-Angledale website for more details.”