ONE of the great servants of Broken Hill cricket, Paul “Paddy” Attard signed off on a brilliant cricket career in perfect style for a proud family man, playing in a West Broken Hill A grade cricket premiership with his two lads, just four short years ago.
His father Patrick came to Broken Hill from Malta as a six-year-old coming out by boat with nine-year-old brother on one level, having his sisters and mother a level above, but not seeing each other during the three-month journey.
Paddy’s grandfather Michael was already working in the mines, and while he never met granddad, he was the first grandson after seven girls.
His mum Judy Laurain-Olds was from a local family connected to the South Broken Hill Roos.
Paddy has two sisters, older sibling Shelley and the youngest Kate who is a Mildura Trotting trainer and horse dentist, along with selling her own range of goods for the industry called Horse Queen
Born on November 4, 1970, Paddy went to Burke Ward Primary School and Broken Hill High School.
“My first junior football was for West Broken Hill at the age of four in the mosquito feet,” he smiled.
“There was school sport every Friday afternoon, whether it was basketball, cricket and football.
“I was a 15-year-old when I played my senior football in a game against North Broken Hill.
“After being on bench during the entire first half and came on at half time.
“My first possession and contest I went flat out at the ball, as did Mark ‘Tully’ White, who was hard as nails on the field, but equally a nice bloke off.
“He came off second best and I won the ball.
“In 1986, West had a strong group of 10 or so players who won the under 17s flags.
“By 1990, a number were playing seniors and West Broken Hill won the A grade flag, beat South Broken Hill, with Dave Sedenary as coach.”
A long kicking defender, Paddy finished his career as a forward during his last two to three years, and played 198 A grade and 10 B grade games before retiring in 2008 at age 39 when an ACL injury ended footy.
“The highlight along with grand final win was the friendships you cultivated over the year, both with teammates and opponents,” Paddy confirmed.
Football was Paddy’s first passion, but history shows he was a better cricketer.
“I first went to competitive cricket at under 15s level, started with Robins, but couldn’t get a game,” Paddy recalled.
“After one training session at the Central Magpies, I didn’t bother going back and play that summer.
“The next year the competition became an under 14s grade, I was back at West and made over 500 runs with the bat and hardly bowled.”
“My first A grade experience was Rod Johnston went away to represent SA the next season.
“Geoff Delbridge came over and asked me to play.
“He and James Daley bowled to me on the Saturday morning before first game against North and I got 20-odd runs in my first A grade outing.”
Paddy started playing for the Barrier Team in the SA Senior Country Championship Harry Meyer Cup competition as a 19-year-old, and was a member of the 1990 title win with Wayne Caldwell as captain.
There were 19 carnivals for Barrier and the amalgamated Murray Districts- Barrier until February of 2015-16.
He first started playing with the SA Outbacks in the summer of 1994-95 in Albany, where he was selected to play for the Australian Country Team against the WACA Second XI side which future Test cricketers Joe Angel, Bernard Julian and Mike Veletta.
He also played for an SA Country team against Pakistan Touring team in the Riverland at Berri Oval.
Paddy played in Australian Country Cricket Championship tours to Toowoomba, Queensland (95-96), Sale, Victoria (96-97) and in Mount Gamber (97-98) before returning in 2001 to Albany and opening the bowling with Shaun Tait.
His highest score was a brutal 166 not out at the Adelaide Number #2 against Yorke Peninsula, amongst a small handful of centuries at Harry Meyer Cup level, and his best bowling figures were 8/57 for West against North
Paddy’s 12 premierships included a handful as captain including that flag with both sons Macca and Paddric in final game in the summer 2021-22.
His best figures were 6/30 at the SACA Senior Country Cup, and he is the only person to win three Ces Starr Medal as player of the tournament, along with being a 10-time member of the “Team of the Championships”.
Paddy is a nine-time winner of Barrier District Cricket Association Player of the Year (now called the Denis Watts Medal).
Always a competitor, Paddy played the game to win, but also conducted himself within the spirit of the game, being a wonderful servant of our summer passion of leather and willow.
