Paul Jelfs overcomes kidney transplant to play 400th Eagles match
Not even a kidney transplant could stop Paul "The Baker" Jelfs missing a season at his beloved North Canberra-Gungahlin.
Jelfs moved to the capital in 1989 and started at the club in their inaugural season and almost 30 years later he's preparing to play his 400th game for Eagles.
Paul Jelfs will play his 400th game for the North Canberra-Gungahlin on Saturday. Credit:Dion Georgopoulos
He missed a grand final four seasons ago because he had kidney transplant surgery the next day but Jelfs recovered in the off-season to play round one the following summer.
The former NSW under-21 off-spinner has bowled more than 4500 deliveries for 824 wickets at 15.6, taken 142 catches and captained six premierships.
Jelfs has no intention of retiring any time soon but admits when he arrived at Norths almost three decades ago he never thought he'd play 400 games across all four grades.
"It's a very big number, in that time you see lots of your friends come and go but I've played with terrific players and made great friends, they leave and you keep going and meet younger guys," Jelfs said.
"I've played every year except one when I did a summer of work in Adelaide and played for the university there. But even when work took me to Sydney for a few years I kept coming back down.
"I'll keep on going as long as the body holds up. One of the things I've had to cope with was a kidney transplant thanks to my wife.
Paul Jelfs has taken 824 wickets in 28 seasons at North Canberra-Gungahlin. Credit:Dion Georgopoulos
"She donated one and I've been able to stay fit and healthy in that time to keep my cricket going and my intention is to keep going for as long as I can."
Teammates call him the "baker" because he "bowls pies" but Jelfs played for the ACT at over-50 nationals this year and has averaged 15.6 as a lower-order batsman since he arrived in Canberra.
The 55-year-old has three hat-tricks to his name and career-best figures of 8-34 came against Queanbeyan in 2009-10, while he was named ACT captain of the year in 1998-99.
"The things that really stick in my mind is winning a number of grand finals in T20, one-day and two-day and the passion and the drama that comes with them," Jelfs said.
"I remember in one grand final we only scored 139 and defended it and I took the last three wickets.
"I took a hat-trick in a T20 semi-final at Jamison which was a great and I captained second grade over many years before subsequently captaining lower grades."
Meanwhile, in first grade the two-day season begins on Saturday with Ginninderra hosting Queanbeyan, Eastlake facing Weston Creek Molonglo, Western District-UC duelling Tuggeranong and ANU playing the Eagles in the opening round of the Douglas Cup.
DOUGLAS CUP ROUND ONE
Saturday 11am: Ginninderra v Queanbeyan at Kippax Oval, Eastlake v Weston Creek Molonglo at Kingston Oval, Tuggeranong Valley v Western District-UC at Chisholm Oval, ANU v North Canberra-Gungahlin at Harrison Oval.
Eamonn Tiernan is a sports reporter with The Canberra Times
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