This is the third in a series on our cricket coaches. The first was on Matt Parr (then Christchurch Boys’ High School) and last season on Garry MacDonald (Nelson College). This year we focus on a great Southern man. The article is written by Liane Topham-Kindley, a parent of two young men who represented Otago Boys’ High School’s 1st XI during Ken Rust’s tenure. Grateful thanks Liane.
Turn up to any cricket ground with the Otago Boys’ High School 1st XI over the past 20 years and the warm welcome extended to “Rusty” and his team was always evident.
OBHS master in charge of cricket Ken Rust, or Rusty as he is known to most people, is well known in the South Island cricket community. When he turned up to a game it was quite likely he had helped coach or manage many of the young men who always greeted him in the same affectionate manner: “G’day Rusty”.
Head of cricket from 1997 until he retired last year, Ken has attended numerous interschool matches, club games and national secondary school tournaments over the years, pacing the boundary, always calm and collected, no matter what the state of play.
A natural people-person, Ken was relatable to his charges, their parents, the opposition and his colleagues, always making time to have a chat and always with a good dollop of humour.
One of the extraordinary things about Rusty was that he rarely showed any emotion on the side- line always providing a steady, consistent base no matter how the game was faring. Not obviously caught up on the highs and the lows of cricket, perhaps this was the secret to Ken’s positive aura over the decades.
The other side of cricket which many people didn’t see — and which Ken rarely spoke about — was keeping the OBHS cricket road show on the straight and narrow for so many years. His efforts getting numerous teams on the paddock week after week, year after year, with last- minute phone calls from players who could no longer turn out on a Saturday morning, was no easy task.
Then, there were difficult decisions to make over selections and Ken had to face the music if parents were not happy about their son’s placement in a team.
Ken also contributed to the overall strategy of cricket in Dunedin, attending numerous meetings run by the Dunedin Cricket Association, never afraid to voice his views or provide advice.
At least three of the current Volts players came under Ken’s direction throughout their time at Otago Boys’. Former Black Cap Hamish Rutherford says when he thinks about cricket and Otago Boys’, the name Rusty goes hand-in- hand.
“When I think about cricket and Otago Boys’, I think of Rusty. For as long as I can remember he has been Mr Cricket at the school.”
One of the Volts’ newest contracted players, wicket-keeper Max Chu graduated from Otago Boys’ in 2017.
“Rusty was a fiercely loyal fellow and someone who always had your back,” Max says.
“He was always pretty level around the cricket space, never let the good days get to our heads or the bad ones get us down.”
There have been a few star players in his time at Otago Boys’, though one went on to excel in another sport — former All Black captain and head boy in his final secondary school year, Richie McCaw.
McCaw played one season for the first eleven in his last year at school in 1998 and was a handy left-arm bowler and a useful batsman who had a good defence, Ken recalls. He turned out for The Willows to play against his old school in 2017, his former coach the first person he spoke to when arriving at the ground on a hot Canterbury October morning.
Murray Bayly who spent a lot of time on the boundary with Ken, watching his two sons Rhys and Taine play in the first eleven sums it up well:
“By the time you had interschool cricket, practices, Saturday cricket, Gillette Cup, warm- up games, Willows trip and tours, I’m not sure if Ken did any teaching in the summer!”
On behalf of all of the players and their families who have paced the boundary with you Ken, it was an honour and a privilege. Thank you for your unwavering service and massive contribution to our sport and school.