CRICKET Ipswich’s latest life member Mick Homburg enjoys having the sport’s Amberley headquarters as his “second home”.
Apart from having to keep kangaroos off the five wickets and wet weather challenges, Mick relishes watching the aircraft fly overhead and sharing in cricket matches.
“If I’m not at home, this is about where I am,” Mick said, after hopping off his buggy for a chat.
“People know where to find me.
“It takes a bit of work but I love doing it.”
The Ivor Marsden Memorial Park on Old Toowoomba Road has five cricket fields and associated sightscreens and nets.
The sports venue is situated opposite RAAF Base Amberley where aircraft pilots often perform their training.
“We do get a few aerial shows every now and again,” Mick said.
“Especially in the off-season, they put on a good show actually. They do all their dogfights out here.
“It gets a bit scary sometimes. They come behind and you can’t hear them until they drop.”
For more than 30 years, Homburg has fulfilled a “jack of all trades” role looking after the wickets, mowing, performing ground maintenance and “anything that needs doing”.
That includes keeping an eye on the hundreds of kangaroos that regularly hop across the fields feeding on the lush grass.
Mick’s trusty family pet dog Custard is a major helper, ensuring the kangaroos don’t get too close to all-important centre wickets.
“He’s 15 and he’s been coming out for 13 years,” Mick said.
“The kangaroos love the grass so that’s what he [Custard] is for. He chases them all down the back corner.”
Mick, 57, said the Amberley venue was a pleasant place to work.
“It’s like part of my life,” he said.
Mick’s focus includes looking after the main Baxter Oval wicket, where Queensland Premier Grade matches are regularly staged during the cricket season.
“We’ve got Australian players, Queensland players coming out here,” he said.
The Baxter Oval wicket has just been returfed, surrounded by fencing to keep the kangaroos away.
Mick also cares for the adjacent Ray Walker Oval, that has become another valuable wicket for Cricket Ipswich-hosted finals.
Mick said he takes pride sharing in Cricket Ipswich’s improved professionalism at all levels in recent years.
“I want to make sure we look good when people come here to play,” he said.
Mick developed his craft from one of Ipswich’s best curators Les Kinnane, working on the Alan Cumming wickets at Len Johnson Oval at North Ipswich before his major move to Amberley.
He has also learnt from and shared knowledge with other dedicated Ipswich curators like Craig Jesberg, Ray Walker and Greg Conway.
Mick started playing with former Queensland cricketer Jesberg when he was 10 at Brothers juniors.
Mick said apart from regular Queensland Premier Grade games and Queensland Country carnivals, the Ipswich venue was showcased when 10 Brisbane Premier League T20 sides used the facility over two consecutive weekends during Covid.
“Me and Jessa were flat out because the first game was seven o’clock in the morning,” Mick said.
“So, we had to get the dew off the fields on five ovals [before play could start].”
Mick said he appreciated receiving his life membership at the recent Cricket Ipswich awards.
“It was a complete surprise,” he said. “I wasn’t really expecting it so it was something I never really thought about.”
However, many people in the cricket fraternity rate Mick a “legend” for all the work he does.
“There’s a lifetime of dedication there,” Cricket Ipswich president Simon Emmerson said.
“There’s a lot of ways he’s held our grounds operations together, especially over the last few years.
“He can fix basically anything for us. He does wickets, everything around the grounds and he’s got a history of knowledge on the region.”
Mick grew up in Ipswich, attending St Mary’s Primary School and St Edmund’s College.
“I was brought up to volunteer,” he said.
Mick can spend 20 hours over weekends at Amberley, or more time when rain causes challenges.
He also maintains the fields during winter when the Ipswich Cats Aussie Rules club use the fields.
Other sporting groups like the Tigers softballers use sections of the venue for training during their season.
While Mick enjoys rare opportunities to go camping, cricket is never far from his thoughts having previously played for clubs like Swifts.
The former bowler turned batsman said having been involved in the game helps him prepare the wickets.
“You see the good ones when you go to different places and see what different people do and I’ve travelled with my sons [Steven and Josh] who played in rep sort of stuff,” Mick said.
“You get to meet other groundsmen in Ipswich and South East Queensland.”
Mick said the toughest part was getting the covers on and off the wickets.
However, the satisfaction was seeing everyone playing cricket.
“For me, even getting kids on when you think they are not going to get on [due to the wet weather] is the biggest thing,” Mick said.
The latest life member said he appreciates women’s cricketers thanking him and willing to help out as he fulfils his weekly demands.
