Aeschlimanns unite for historic match at Scorpion Park

SCORPION PARK was awash with 

Aeschlimanns on Saturday as brothers Karl and Alex, along with their sons Jack and Jules, took the field together for the first time in Town’s B Grade clash against Phillip Island.

Karl and Alex first fell in love with cricket in the Elliott family’s Turner Street backyard. 

“We were there constantly,” recalls Karl. 

The rules were a little unorthodox – a wheelbarrow often filled in as a fielder.

They reckon it was around 1984 when they first played wheelbarrow-free cricket together for Leongatha Town in the under 16s.

Now in their 50s, Karl and Alex’s illustrious careers at Town span more than four decades. 

Life has taken them away from South Gippsland from time to time, but their loyalty to Leongatha Town Cricket Club has never wavered.

Jack and Jules grew up spending their summers at the clubhouse, coming through the junior ranks at Town, with both dads stepping in as coaches along the way.

The younger Aeschlimanns described the experience of lining up alongside their dads as “salubrious.” 

In a nod to family tradition, the cousins were also spotted getting a little competitive down at the boundary – just like their fathers once did.

While the result on the scoreboard wasn’t what Town had hoped for, the experience of sharing the field as a family was unforgettable. 

The young Aeschlimanns reckon their dads have “at least another two games in them – so long as they don’t get injured.”