Chris Seisun, Chris Street and Rod Douthie return as a coaching trio at Moorabbin in club’s 100th year

Chris Seisun, Chris Street and Rod Douthie gained their grounding in senior cricket with the Saints before going on to Premier ranks.

Each played Premier firsts, Seisun at Prahran, Street at Prahran and Fitzroy-Doncaster (where his fast bowling won him a coveted Ryder Medal in 2003-04 and Victorian Second XI appearances) and Douthie at Hawthorn-Waverley.

Now they’re back at Moorabbin, eager to improve the fortunes of a club about to enter its 100th season of cricket.

Seisun is head coach, and Street and Douthie are his assistants.

Seisun, fit enough at 50 to have run the past two Melbourne Marathons, will also captain the second XI, for better to guide the young players coming into the senior teams.

Street, 46, will play sporadically.

“‘Streety’ and I met at Moorabbin Cricket Club back in the 1980s,’’ Seisun says.

“We were both there in the juniors and we both went to District cricket with Prahran.’’

He remembers some of the outstanding cricketers at Moorabbin as he was coming through: former Victorians Peter King and Brad Green, Greg Feben and Alan Marion.

Moorabbin, then at Linton St but now at the Moorleigh Community Village ground in Bentleigh East, won the premiership in 1992-93 (and a young Seisun won the second XI batting average that season).

Marion is still with the Saints, as president, running the administration with the gusto he showed behind the stumps.

Seisun says he and Street had been talking about going back to Moorabbin for some time.

Their return was confirmed even before the end of last season, when the First XI finished strongly under club favourite Roshie Livera to settle on 48 points, nine away from the finals.

“I’ve always thought, ‘Geez, I’ve got to get back there one day’ and Streety is like, ‘Yeah, we should’,’’ Seisun says.

“They wanted us there last year but I was keen to have a season off to play some golf and have a normal life after so many years of cricket. But a normal life for me involves cricket, because I love the game so much. We spoke to Alan Marion and worked something out. We’re contracted for two years but we’ll be here longer because we really want to see the club get back to where it was and it will take a bit of time.’’

He’s enthused about the facilities at Moorleigh – “five nets, floodlights, two bowling machines, the best square in Sub-District’’ – the energy of the committee and the young talent he’s seen in the pre-season.

Seisun says hard work will underpin anything Moorabbin achieves in its centenary season.

It has adopted the acronym ‘BCF’.

“It’s not boating, camping, fishing. It’s basics, commitment, fun,’’ Seisun says.

“It’s about doing the simple things right. Bowl outside off-stump, watch the ball, commit to everything you do and enjoy your cricket, because that’s what the game is there for.’’

Seisun’s cricket took him well beyond Victorian Premier and Sub-District grounds: he had two summers in the UK, nine in Holland and two in South Africa, playing and coaching.

After their Premier Cricket, he and Street had a long association with Bentleigh, building the juniors and female cricket besides the men’s teams.

But Seisen says Moorabbin was never far from his thoughts and he imagined going back and trying to set it up for the success it had when he was a young Saint.

“The time’s come,’’ he says.

Douthie returned to Moorabbin as senior coach following his stint at Hawthorn-Waverley and for three run-filled seasons was among the leading players in the competition.

Despite his performances, finals eluded the Saints, as they did for a succession of leaders after him.

The run of outs finally ended in 2019-20.

Moorabbin entered the Subbies in the 1965-66 season and has won three First XI premierships: 1978-79, 1981-82 and 1992-93.

It also took seven First XI flags in its previous affiliations, in the Frankston-Glenhuntly Cricket Association and the Victorian Junior Cricket Association.

The great West Indian fast bowler Malcolm Marshall and former captain Carl Hooper, and fellow former internationals Simon Davis, Brad Hodge, Simon O’Donnell, Ravi Ratnayeke and Athula Samarasekera all played cricket at Moorabbin, as did Victorian representatives King, Green and Ian Hewitt.

League football champions Darrel Baldock and Max Papley are also on the roll-call of past players.

Baldock had the distinction of hitting the first century for Moorabbin in Subbies cricket, 104 not out against Hawthorn-East Melbourne.

Papley topped the ton in each of the two following seasons and was selected in the club’s team of the century in 2001-02.

Michael Moss, Russell Riddell, Ian Davison, Pat Grant, Glenn Jansz, Doug Provis, Ken Walker, Bill Heller, Gerard Cull, Graeme Wilson and Susantha Pradeep are other notable Moorabbin names.

Marion holds the First XI games record (206 matches) and kept to Marshall, every ball slapping his gloves.

Moorabbin will celebrate its centenary with a dinner at Glen Eira Town Hall on Saturday, October 7.

Seven “immortals’’ will be recognised and two club greats will join the legendary Jack Wilson in the hall of fame.

In their 100th season – and under ‘Moorabbin boys’ Seisun, Street and Douthie – the Saints will field four Sub-District sides, All-Abilities teams, and under 11, 15 and 17 sides.

MOORABBIN CC TEAM OF THE CENTURY

Max Papley (vice-captain): 62 games (1964-65 to 1969-70). 2342 runs at 30.0, 112 wickets at 15.6.

Ian Davison: 26 games (1973-74 to 1974-75). 1017 runs at 40.7.

Michael Moss: 76 games (1978-79 to 1981-82, 1989-90). 1734 runs at 30.4, 137 wickets at 14.4.

Bob Stein: 103 games (1964-65 to 1972-73). 2849 runs at 23.0, eight wickets at 16.3.

Glen Jansz: 30 games (1998-99 to 2000-01). 900 runs at 34.6.

Peter King (captain): 37 games (1976-77, 1992-93 to 1993-94). 868 runs at 28.0, 57 wickets at 15.1.

Brad Green: 92 games (1990-91 to 1996-97). 1525 runs at 21.5, 181 wickets at 15.5.

Alan Marion: 202 games (1976-77 to 1991-92).

Doug Provis (wicketkeeper): 67 games (1966-67 to 1970-71). 901 runs at 17.3, 245 wickets at 13.5.

Ken Walker: 42 games (1979-80 to 1981-82). 137 wickets at 11.8.

Greg Feben: 113 games (1986-87 to 1992-93). 248 wickets at 15.3.