Doug Fairchild is a stalwart of the Little River Cricket Club. He chats with Alesha Capone.
Tell me a little bit about yourself…
I was born in the old Werribee Hospital in 1968 and have lived my entire life in Little River. During the majority of my working life I have been involved in telecommunications as a technician (Telecom/Telstra) and sales (Commander Australia). I am currently an account executive for an IT company. Sport has played a major part in my life and my three children are all actively involved in sport. I recently became a grandfather for the first time and am looking forward to following my grandson, and future grandchildren, if they decide to participate in sport.
What you like about Little River?
I love the country feel of Little River. It is an amazing town with wonderful people who are always willing to lend a hand to anyone in need. My beautiful partner Sonia lives in Craigieburn, which makes me appreciate Little River even more after spending time with her in Melbourne metro. Little River is restricted in what land can be sub-divided which allows the town to remain almost unchanged. The outer Werribee suburbs are slowly moving towards Little River but it will be many years before it causes any effects on the town. My favourite place to visit is Little River Reserve, which is the home of our cricket club. I also love the Little River Hotel and Little River General Store.
What do you enjoy about being involved with the cricket club?
I’m currently in my third season as president, after taking over from my son Dylan who served as president in the two previous seasons. I started playing junior cricket at Little River at the age of 13 and senior cricket at the age of 15. I’m currently playing in my 38th senior season. I enjoy the competitiveness of playing cricket and the friendships that I’ve made throughout the years. I organised a fitness challenge before the start of this season and money raised was donated to Beyond Blue, Salvation Army, Royal Children’s Hospital, Little River CFA and many others.
Have you played any memorable matches with the club?
I played in my 429th senior game on Sunday. There have been many memorable moments both personally and as a team. The most memorable moment was being captain of our B Grade Premiership Team in 2014-15. We were the underdogs and I promised our team that I’d get my first tattoo (at age 46) which incorporated all of the players that played in the winning grand final game.
The club has been running for a long time, is that right?
Yes, we held our 150th year celebrations last season which included the announcement of our Legends Team which consisted of the best players from all eras of the club. We had over 200 people attend the celebrations which included many of the locals. We are holding an event on Sunday the 14th of February where we’ll be announcing our Team of the Decade.
