Sports Hall of Fame Inductee
Category: Sports Honour Roll
Sport: Cricket
Shepparton’s Central Park/ St. Brendan’s Cricket Club had two young players Brian Doyle and Rohan Larkin who were elevated into first class cricket together.
Brian Doyle had commenced his cricket with the reformed Dookie Cricket club and played in a premiership D Grade team.
He then moved on to Central Park St. Brendan’s where he developed into a top class off spin bowler.
He was soon selected to represent Cricket Shepparton in McPherson shield regional games where he showed the selectors that he was ready to play Country Week Cricket.
It was at Melbourne Country week that he came under notice of the Carlton Cricket Club which recruited him and elevated him into the senior team. It wasn’t long before he was invited into the State training squad and his spinning fingers made him the first shearer to be selected to play for Victoria. Brian also won a scholarship to the Victorian Institute of Sport where he honed his cricket skills.
Brian relished the opportunity to play first class cricket and enjoyed playing with and against the best cricketers in the country. During his ten years with Carlton he played 8 Sheffield Shield games with Victoria and also represented the state in the Mercantile Mutual One Day cup.
He returned to Shepparton as Captain Coach of his former club Central Park St. Brendan’s and had fantastic success playing in 5 A Grade premierships and winning 3 one day premierships.
Brian continued to represent Shepparton at country week and at regional level. He was selected to represent Victorian Country at a top class carnival.
Cricket Shepparton thought so much of Brian’s contribution to cricket that it named the player of the series trophy for the T20 competition the “Brian Doyle” medal.
The City of Greater Shepparton now recognises Brian Doyle as one of our most successful cricketers as he is inducted into the Sports Hall of Fame Honour Roll.