WHETHER it was radio, print or television, Gary Piggott was one of the great promoters of the Bendigo District Cricket Association.
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Piggott loved the game of his cricket and his passion for the sport was evident far beyond just his playing of the game.
He was a tremendous spruiker of the BDCA, umpire and the lifeblood of what keeps community sporting clubs going - a volunteer.
The BDCA has lost a figure that is synonymous with it following the passing of Piggott aged 76.
While he was passionate about the BDCA, Piggott's strongest club ties were with the Bendigo Cricket Club where he first played in the late 1960s.
"It's a significant loss for the cricket club because Gary has been with us for so long and did a lot for the club as a volunteer," Bendigo Cricket Club president Mark Ryan said this week.
"Volunteers are always hugely important to run clubs and Gary was always willing to help out, chip in where needed and be a voice.
"Someone who is invested in a club and as committed to a cause as what Gary was with us is certainly a valued asset and this does feel like losing a member of the family."
Piggott's funeral will be held next Tuesday, with one of the eulogies to be delivered by Larry Wust on behalf of the Bendigo Cricket Club.
Stepping up for North Bendigo
Piggott first played cricket as a junior with North Bendigo in 1958 before later playing his first senior game in 1965 and scoring 105 in his debut senior season.
Piggott played with North Bendigo until 1968 before beginning what would be an association with Bendigo that spanned more than 50 years.
The bulk of Piggott's cricket with Bendigo was played in the club's B and C grade teams, but he did play 27 A grade games during his tenure with the Goers, with whom he is a life member.
"Garry opened the batting and he quite often opened the bowling in the seconds as well," Wust said.
"He bowled right hand medium-pace and could swing the ball both ways... there was one game in the B Grade in 1972 when he took 8-17.
"Gary would be the first to admit that if there was a division of cricket somewhere between first and second XI he'd be the first picked every week."
As well his long association with Bendigo, Piggott also has connections with the Wangaratta Magpies and Mooroopna cricket clubs.
He coached the Magpies to a premiership in 1975 after moving to Wangaratta. Following another relocation to Shepparton, Piggott spent three years coaching Mooroopna during a nine-year stint at the club before returning to Bendigo in 1985.
Along with lengthy involvement at club level with Bendigo, Piggott was also a strong presence with the Bendigo District Cricket Umpires Association during the 2000s.
"These are Gary's words - he was sitting watching the cricket one Saturday afternoon and there were a few mistakes being made and he said, 'I reckon I could do a better job than half these blokes who are umpiring', so the following year he took it up," Wust said.
"He had only been umpiring for 12 months before he took over as president of the umpires."
Trying to flush out umpires
You knew it was getting close to cricket season when Piggott would ring up the Addy offices seeking a story to try to flush out some additional umpire numbers for the upcoming season.
"We'd love to see some retired players put something back into the game and join our ranks," Piggott said during 2012 when the BDCUA was in dire need of more numbers.
"We'd encourage younger people out there who love their cricket, but mightn't have the ability to play, to join the umpires. It's great way to be involved in cricket."
Among the highlights of Piggott's umpiring career was officiating alongside fellow BDCUA member Max Taylor at the Australian Country Cricket Championships in Mildura in January of 2007.
Piggott also umpired on the MCG in a game between Bendigo and the Melbourne 29ers, while also umpiring in multiple BDCA first XI grand finals.
And for more than two decades Piggott spent countless hours behind the microphone of Bendigo's 101.5 Fresh FM promoting the BDCA on the community radio station's cricket show.
Starting in the early 2000s Piggott alongside Glen Cole co-hosted the Fresh's weekly BDCA show on a Saturday morning and did so before hanging his microphone up in March of 2023.
"I think Gary had been doing the show for a little bit before he asked me whether I'd like to join him," Cole said.
"We started doing the show together when the Fresh was in McCrae Street, then we went to Baxter Street and then up to Garsed Street where the station is now.
"Gary certainly did his homework, he'd organise the special guests from the clubs and we also had some guests on from Cricket Victoria and Cricket Australia and so forth.
"We'd have a couple of phonecalls during the week to work our what we were going to talk about and off we went on a Saturday morning.
"As well as talking about the BDCA, we'd also talk a bit about the Emu Valley, Upper Loddon and Northern United cricket competitions.
"Gary has certainly been a great contributor to cricket in Bendigo. Not only his work on the radio, but he was involved in the umpires for a long time and the Bendigo Cricket Club where he did a lot of that unsung hero type stuff in terms of scoring.
"You need volunteers like Gary at club level... if you don't have that, it's no good having the best side on the field if you don't have any one off the ground to help them."
A life in the media
As well as Piggott's long involvement in co-hosting Fresh Fm's cricket show, he was also a former BDCA scribe for the Bendigo Advertiser and his son Michael also recalls him as a local cricket correspondent for television.
"I remember he would be on Southern Cross as it was back then on a Friday night as part of the news doing a cricket report," Michael said.
"He certainly loved his cricket... for dad it was his third love behind mum (Ruth) and his kids (Michael, Aaron and Chris).
"He loved being part of the Bendigo Cricket Club and just doing anything he could to help out. I can remember going down to the ground with him late on a Friday evening when it was looking like it was going to rain and helping him to put the covers on or roll the pitch."
As well as family - he celebrated 50 years of marriage with wife Ruth in January - and cricket, other great passions for Piggott included golf, Essendon and lego.
"And also back in the day he was a very good ballroom dancer and ten pin bowler," Wust said.
Piggott's funeral will be held next Tuesday at 10.30am at Mulqueen Family Funerals.
