My Best XI: Steve McKean
Burnside West Christchurch University Cricket Club | November 28, 2025
Steve McKean (War Machine) played 66 First Grade games for BWCUCC after moving to Christchurch from Australia, where here represented Wynumm Manly.
Steve was a massive part of Burnside's fabric across a 15 year period, playing in the Premiers, Championship and Masters sides and blowing the roof off the clubrooms when his band was invited up for a gig.
Here is War Machine's greatest XI.
1.Tom Latham (BWC)
I was fortunate to play quite a few matches with Tom, including his Seniors debut for BWC as a schoolboy. I believe he made 90-odd not out. The rest, as they say, is history. Even as a young man you could tell he was destined for the Black Caps. His class and temperament were always a step above.
2. Lyndon Hoffman (BWC)
A super-talented opening bat who could take the game away from the opposition. He was a bit rocks and diamonds, but the diamonds tended to come when it mattered most. He seemed to lift with the quality of the opposition. He scored a truckload of runs in a Canterbury A tournament, but never quite made the next step. Even though he was good enough, in my opinion.
3.Ryan Broad (Anglican Church Grammar School)
Broady batted No. 3 for the Churchie 1st XI for three years, quite the feat. Technically sound and a hard striker of the ball, he was a great player. He dominated Brisbane grade cricket and later opened for the Queensland Bulls from the mid-2000s through 2012. A fine player.
4.Nathan Astle (BWC)
There’s something surreal about standing at the non-striker’s end and watching a New Zealand legend go to work. It was a club match thick with tension against a few of his old club teammates. They had the quickest bowler in Canterbury charging in with a howling southerly at his back. Astle was hitting sixes at will. One in particular went over cover and onto the clubhouse roof at least 100 metres on the fly. Jaw-dropping. He declared his innings at 97* and made them bat 15 overs with no chance of a result. It was genius. What goes on the field stays on the field, right?
5.Will Young (BWC)
Youngy had all the shots and never seemed hurried. He was one of those guys who scored runs easily and unassumingly. It’s been brilliant to see him succeed for the Black Caps, in particular that 3–0 Test win in India where he was the standout batsman. Super nice guy to boot.
6.George Worker (BWC)
“Works” could seriously play. He was strong square of the wicket, but what stood out was how often he hit the ball straight back over the bowler’s head. He was also a handy left-arm orthodox bowler. Fiercely competitive on the field and never shy of a chat he’s a great guy to have on your side.
7.Tom Bruce (BWC)
I played a fair bit of 1st and 2nd grade with Brucey. Easy on the eye as a batsman, though he didn’t dominate consistently early on. After a development tour to India he came back a different player. A change of region and it all started to click. Superb fielder and a handy off-spinner. He’s since represented the Black Caps, scored a truckload of first-class runs, and plies his trade in domestic T20 leagues around the world.
8.Ben Laughlin (Wynnum-Manly)
We played together as teenagers in the lower grades at Wynnum-Manly. I remember his yorker being two yards quicker than anything else he bowled. Tall and wiry, a few injuries hampered him early, but once he filled out he went on to play for Queensland, the Hurricanes, then Australia, and in various T20 leagues.
9.Richard Sherlock (BWC)
Sherlo was meant to be a generational quick. He played plenty of New Zealand age-group cricket and was on track to rise further before injuries intervened. One afternoon against a rival club and a well-known antagonist, Sherlo fired up. When it was our turn to
field, he bowled the quickest spell I’ve ever kept to. I was taking them above my head from about 30 metres back. Lightning.
Also a Premier rugby player for Belfast, McKean is pictured here playing alongside dual international, Sonny Bill Williams.
10.Scott Inglis (BWC)
Singles is a BWC legend and the club’s all-time leading wicket-taker. Tall and lean, his action looked like a slow waltz, but at the crease he generated real rhythm and pace. He had a knack of removing top-order batters, swinging it in or nipping it back nicely to the right hander.
11.David Sewell (BWC)
Sewelly was a left-arm opening bowler with a massive ticker. He played a single Test for New Zealand and many first-class games. I played with him in his veteran years; he still got it through, and the first ball of the spell and the last were the same pace.
