Jak Willcox can still remember every detail. His mum would roll out the rug and he would sit dreaming of wearing the cap his father Dave and uncle Andy donned so proudly.
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Wind the clock forward and Willcox is quickly building his own lasting legacy at the Ginninderra Tigers.
Willcox claimed 11-72 for the match to secure the best bowling figures in club history, inspiring the Tigers to a resounding win over Eastlake in the Cricket ACT Douglas Cup at Kippax Oval on Saturday.
He took 6-28 from 18 overs in a stunning first innings spell to set up a push for an outright victory that ultimately fell one scalp short. In that thrilling second dig? "Ah, another five," he said sheepishly.
A place in the history books is fitting for a fast bowler who has two family members among the club's eight leading wicket takers. But this day was always going to be about more than personal accolades.
"I’ve just been told I ended up breaking the club record for most wickets in a match in first grade so that’s pretty handy, but I’d rather the outright," Willcox said.
"It’s very special. At the end of the day if you can pick up a few of those things along the way then it’s good, but what I really want is to see this group go as close to winning the Douglas Cup as possible.
"It’s just a great feel. We turn up every week and you really don’t know [who will stand out], because we’ve got so many blokes that do chip in here and there.
"It’s been a tough couple of days for the club, Dylan [Faram] just lost his grandfather and we had an ex-player lose his father.
"Today was about supporting those families, coming together as a group and getting the W for them."
Willcox's inspirational spell saw Ginninderra roll Eastlake for 174, giving the Tigers a hefty 158-run first innings lead.
But rather than shake hands right then and there, Ginninderra skipper Rhys Healy opted to push for an outright victory that would have proven crucial in the Tigers' bid for a home semi-final.
The Tigers teed off to declare at 1-94 after 10 overs, leaving Willcox and Michael Ninneman to hunt for early breakthroughs with Eastlake finishing nine down in pursuit of 253 from 26 overs.
"We ended up just missing out, obviously disappointing to miss out on the outright but good to get the win and lock ourselves in for the finals," Willcox said.
While Ginninderra just missed an outright win, Tuggeranong Valley certainly didn't. They wiped out North Canberra-Gungahlin to complete an innings and 126-run victory at Harrison Oval.
Norths folded for 109 when they were made to follow on a week after posting 88 in reply to Tuggeranong's 5dec-323, bringing up their fourth outright defeat from six games.
Western District-UC followed suit in their clash with ANU, skittling the Owls for 109 to claim an innings and 12-run win at Jamison Oval.
Queanbeyan (289) exacted some small revenge for their one-day grand final defeat in notching up a first innings victory over Weston Creek Molonglo (177) at Stirling Oval.
AT A GLANCE
Cricket ACT Douglas Cup - TUGGERANONG VALLEY 5dec-323 (M Barrington-Smith 128; L Whatmough 2-48) bt NORTH CANBERRA-GUNGAHLIN 88 and 109 (J Low-McMahon 22; C Devoy 3-19) by an innings and 126 runs at Harrison Oval.
QUEANBEYAN 289 (D Solway 154; D McLean 6-55) bt WESTON CREEK MOLONGLO 177 (S Taylor 66; T van Luin 4-73) by 112 runs on first innings at Stirling Oval.
WESTERN DISTRICT-UC 6dec-311 (M Condon 100*; N Groenewegen 2-35) bt ANU 108 and 191 (N Groenewegen 51, N Ada 4-47) by an innings and 12 runs at Jamison Oval.
GINNINDERRA 7dec-332 and 1-94 bt EASTLAKE 174 and (final second innings score not available) at Kippax Oval.
