10 Things # 54

GH welcomes Merv to the Yarras

1/ We take Merv Hughes for granted.

2/ So here we are on stools at the Yarras on Saturday night for our Last Man Standing function. I seem to be trying to get his attention, but he’s in vintage form, with wonderful stories as only he can tell them, and a rapt audience including two teams in the afterglow of winning their semi finals during the day. We’ve had a host of great visitors to the club, from Wasim Akram and Mike Atherton to Chris Rogers and Brad Hodge. Last year there was even Maxy. But, I’m not sure anyone has quite bought into the vibe like Merv. We offered to pick him up and get him home; he said not to worry. I’d chatted to him only a couple of times about the details; he was there on time and endlessly patient with our faffing about. He bought tickets in the draw, and for the meat tray. He brought a bat and some balls to auction. He talked to everyone alike, sober or drunk, jovial or shy, understanding all the types, dealing with them accordingly. He took an interest in the club - every club, as we know, is the same but different. We paid him a fee, but this was really a love job, a model of giving back to cricket - the cricket that he grew up playing.

With our president Faz and his dad Rob

3/ Merv, moreover, has been doing this for years. J remembered him coming as the guess of the show in her home town of Weethalle, near West Wyalong. Oh, yes, Merv said. Can’t remember who asked him, but he drove from Melbourne, and stayed in the tumbledown pub. J recalled that the townspeople were agog. Merv! The actual Merv! He did everything asked and more, was funny and warm and….well, Merv. There’s something affirming when you meet someone and they are what they seem but also somehow better. In a world full of the phony and meretricious, authenticity stands out like bold type. He is a good, good man, and at the Yarras, as in so many places, he has left a legacy of goodwill we’ll always remember.

Why does nobody ever sit in the front row? He won’t bite!