Rod Kirkaldie shares his treasured memories playing Warehouse Cricket in Brisbane

Brad Murphy | September 04, 2025

Rod Kirkaldie played top-grade cricket and Australian Rules football in Brisbane in the '80s. 

He also moved around a bit after that, having stints playing at Nambour, Coomera-Hope Island on the Gold Coast and Pine Rivers in Warehouse cricket. 

He also lived and played cricket in Vanuatu for a period. 

He writes a little story for us.

Back in the 80s I moved to Brisbane to pursue the possibility of playing Australian Rules with Windsor Zillmere. I was in Grade 11 and was playing for Nambour; I never played much rep footy or cricket, as funds were a bit limited. I loved playing cricket and footy; I was never really good at either, but I tried hard, and the main thing is, I had fun. So, I joined Windsor Zillmere and was lucky enough to play six under-19s games and play in the finals, where I kicked 4 goals in the Grand Final and we won the flag. It was a star-studded Colts team, and I was very lucky to get a game.

That season, we played against Mayne, where one of their players, who wore glasses, snorted and wheezed as he moved around the field.

Spud Murphy – he was friends with my lifelong friend Gaven Ashworth (I got a few yarns about him). I’ve known Spud for quite a while now and actually met him when I was 12 at Sam Trimble’s Cricket Camp. Tough player, I will tell you.

My genuine passion has been cricket from a very young age; although I did not aspire to become a superstar, I was captivated by the game. Some people say they would rather watch paint dry; however, I prefer watching the grass grow because I love cricket. I loved cricket so much that I worked as security at the Sheffield Shield for many years and had the immense pleasure of carrying the Shield onto the ground when Queensland won, an experience I will never forget.

Well, Spud asked me to write a bit of a yarn about the Warehouse cricket I played. Some players in the Warehouse league had the potential to be spectacular, but they preferred to start their cricket matches in the afternoon.

When I moved to Brisbane, I was planning to continue to travel to the Sunshine Coast to play for the Nambour Cutters. I played with a great group of guys and played first grade at 16. Pat Drew, Lindsay Turnbull, Grant Ledger, Gaven Ashworth and Wes Hall were all outstanding players in my eyes.

I admired their ability. Additionally, we faced some quite skilled opponents during our time there. A big influence on my game then was Charlie Ashworth (RIP); he was kind and patient and always seemed to have a chat with me before I went out to bat. Many an hour was spent in Gaven’s backyard with a cricket ball strung up in a big tree, honing my agricultural batting style. Gaven was great to watch, as he was a great timer of the ball.

So here I was in Brisbane with a few games of footy and a premiership, going to high school. I had a part-time job that paid OK in my Uncle Doug’s butcher shop. My Uncle Doug (RIP) was a very big influence in my life, and he owned a butcher shop on the corner of Ridgemont & Dunsford Streets in Zillmere, and I worked there before and after school and put his bets on at lunchtime.

He was a selector at Redcliffe Dolphins and coached the Colts there for a few years. A few good players came from that Colts side, and there were a few internationals. Well, I told Uncle Doug I wanted to play cricket, so he organised me a game at Pine Rivers via John Baker, which was good of him to do, but I wanted to have a try at Sandgate Redcliffe, but it was not to be.

Subsequently, I played for Pine Rivers. I did not go to training at all and was just picked up on Saturday by Gary (Wally) Wyvill and went to play at A1 Warehouse.

We played Brisbane Hospitals in the first game at a small ground situated behind Rosemount Hospital. It was quite an eye-opening experience for a young man from the coast. Two things happened that day I will never forget. Gary Wyvill, or Wally to his friends, hit a Dorothy (Six) into Rosemount Hospital, which at that stage was a significant mental facility, and the patients screamed for a good 45 minutes. I remember that Gary was 136 not out at the end of our innings. He then opened the bowling, and we lost that game and lots of others that season.

Also it was the first time I had faced a quick bowler who bowled off the wrong foot. I thought it was pretty funny because I'd never seen anything like that before, and I laughed big time at him. I never wore a helmet until after that day. Peter Cunningham was a pretty fair bowler and spooked me nearly every time I faced him.

Pine Rivers did not do very well the first year. No coach or real training, so it wasn’t great. I got to play cricket with Paul (Coogs) Coogan (legend of Queensland baseball), Mark (Emu) Schultz, the Redcliffe Dolphins winger, and Peter Jackson (RIP), State of Origin player.

There was another, Jason Benvenutti (Conan), and he had fantastic potential. I admired his ability, and he was devastatingly quick off ten steps and wielded the willow like a barbarian. I also clearly remember a young Joe Dawes playing in the lower grades; he had express pace but lacked direction, which was very scary when facing him in a nett on a concrete wicket. He certainly went on to become quite good at cricket.

The next season came, and I got a call from John Baker, a great guy; he was the backbone of the cricket club for quite a while. He explained to me that Pine Rivers was going to win the Premiership in the coming season, and we had a coach, Ted Hohns, and some new players coming as well.

I learnt lots from Ted; he was ruthless and liked to win. He knew how to set the field and where players should field based on their ability, not where they had always fielded.

With Ted coming to the club, it attracted other new players. I had that feeling I was headed for second or third grade after training properly. I got some very good fielding coaching from Wally Wyvill’s mate Paul Coogan in a few sessions, and I suppose, depending on my fielding ability, I managed to retain my spot. Think I was batting 7 and getting a trundle or a throw, as many say. Yes, I’m a chucker; I have a bent left arm from a childhood accident.

I think the first year I played under Ted Hohn, I learned to sledge people more than I ever had; he was the master at it.

I saw Brian Champion break Jason Benvenitti's arm at Vic Park. I went in next; I think I hit Champo’s car with the second ball. I saw Wally Wyvill hit Lance Williams into the Bowls Club at Filmer Park, one of the biggest sixes I have witnessed. I saw Jason Benvenutti hit a ball onto the road by the waterside during the same game.

I met a great swing bowler, John (Slugger) Sloane, who had my mark every time I played against him. Man, he could swing the ball both ways; I went to play in his team so he would stop getting me out in a later season.

One of the funniest moments that year occurred at Clem Jones Stadium in Carina. From memory we were playing Mater Hill; it was a great track prepared by Clem. Wally Wyvill bowled a bit, and he appealed for LBW and screamed out 'F#$%!' when John Zevon gave it not out, and the umpire warned him for language. Two balls later Wally appealed again, and the same decision was made: not out. Wally looked at the slips cordon while I stood in the gully; he smiled slightly and then yelled "ROOT" even louder than his first shout, which made the umpire laugh.

But the highlight of the season was the Grand Final at Victoria Park against Brisbane Hospitals. My highlight was signalling the batsman for a second run, then delivering the ball to dislodge the stumps and dismissing him from the crease.

However, the most memorable moment was when Ted Hohn mankaded Michael Reddicliffe while he was on 93 runs. I was at mid-off, and Ted was into him and also into the umpire; it was glorious.

We had a beer with them after the game and then went back to the clubhouse for a few more. We did two more times after that, and we did not get our shot at the QCA. It would have been interesting if we did, as at that stage Pine Rivers did have the financial facilities, sponsorship and depth to be successful.

They were great days in my sporting life, and I'm proud to have my photo in Pine Rivers Cricket Club and my name on a few trophies only for being a bit agricultural when batting.

But I am even prouder that I was privileged to play with such a fantastic group of blokes. Sometimes, like all old retired limping cricketers, I wish it could have gone on longer.

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