George Lomagno hits 500 game mark for OMK

By Andrew Paloczi

GEORGE Lomagno achieved the stunning total of 500 games for Outtrim Moyarra Kongwak (OMK) when he helped the Diggers B2 side to a four-run victory against Wonthaggi Club on January 6.

“It’s a huge milestone,” OMK president and George’s teammate on the day, Russ White said.

Medium-pace outswinger George recovered from an expensive first over, capturing a couple of wickets in his second, then holding his nerve as he delivered the game’s final over.

George summed up what went through his mind as he prepared to send down the last ball of the match with Club still a chance of spoiling his celebration.

“Where the hell am I going to put it?” he pondered.

Yorker length outside off stump was the verdict, the perfectly executed plan drawing a play and miss as the batsman aimed for ‘cow corner’, and sparking OMK joy.

“You couldn’t have scripted it better,” George said.

The outcome of the T20 match was touch and go throughout, with Wonthaggi Club threatening to dash OMK’s quest to mark the milestone game with victory.

Satisfyingly for George, he had Luke Anstey caught for a duck after earlier falling to the same player for eight runs.

The 500 gamer then sent Callum Prosser on his way without scoring, trapping the Wonthaggi number seven batsman LBW.

George’s senior cricket career started at the age of 15 when the Outtrim local began representing the then Outtrim Kongwak, with the games played in his first season additional to his now just over 500 for OMK.

“I still consider myself a one-club player,” he said, a view nobody is likely to dispute.

OMK Life Member George has featured in a couple of A Grade premierships, a further two in B Grade and six in C Grade.

He also starred in a D Grade premiership during a period in which that was a much higher standard than it now sounds, taking five wickets and scoring around 70.

George’s top score is 153 not out and he has made one A Grade century and four in B Grade.

He’s not renowned for scoring at a blistering pace, having in the past been compared to English Test batsman Geoff Boycott, and has only hit two sixes in his career.

There is one other six George has heard about many times over the years.

“I was in the outfield and went to take a catch and I missed it and it bounced off me head and over the fence for six,” George said.

“The pride was injured,” he conceded, albeit he can now laugh about the incident.

As for his maximums off the bat, George recalls a shot back in the mid-1980s when his top-edged effort hit the Outtrim fence on the full.

His second six came at Korumburra high school, pleasingly sailing well over the boundary.

There may be just a few more games left for George, the veteran contemplating “pulling the pin”.

“The body is finding it harder and it takes nearly a full week to recover,” he said.

When he reaches retirement, George looks forward to spending more time with his grandkids and on his Outtrim beef farm.

He expressed his appreciation of the family support he has enjoyed over the years, saying he couldn’t otherwise have reached such a milestone.

It was a great celebration on the day he did so, as the winning B2 players took in the end of OMK’s A Grade game, with past players and family on hand to mark George’s achievement.