Peter Solway describes Ian McNamee as the 'Godfather' of the Queanbeyan District Cricket Club. McNamee simply refers to Solway as the greatest to have ever played for Queanbeyan.
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The two stalwarts were honoured in a ceremony on Friday, attaching McNamee's name to the club pavilion, and Solway's to the scoreboard.
"I haven't heard Godfather before, there's more Irish in the blood than Italian," McNamee said.
"There's just so much about cricket and cricketers, so many people will tell you they've built their life on playing cricket and what they've got out of playing cricket and I feel the same way, it's given me a hell of a lot."
It was a fitting celebration for McNamee and Solway at Freebody Oval, a venue former Cricket Australia boss James Sutherland once described as one of the best regional facilities in the country.
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Long-time patron and former president McNamee was the driving force behind erecting Queanbeyan's pavilion in 2012, a spacious building sitting between the two cricket grounds at Freebody Oval. He also pressed hard to secure planning approval for a new set of changerooms, to be used by the club's recently minted women's team.
Solway has also been a long-time administrative contributor at Queanbeyan, but his biggest contribution has been at the crease.
He began as a junior in 1977 and has played more than 500 grade games, securing a staggering 40 premierships in all competitions, while his 9817 first-grade runs in the ACT competition is still a record.
"The club's special to me - I was in here the other day actually thinking of what I was going to say, you look through all the photos and it actually is a history of my years at the club," Solway said.
"There's so many good people at the club and people you catch up with over the years."
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