Derek played cricket with the same courage and determination as he did when faced with pancreatic cancer. Sadly Derek was only 63 years of age when he died.
Fittingly a celebration of life was held outdoors in brilliantly fine weather on the turf at Rawhiti Domain (where he scored so many runs in his prime). Among many tributes, both sons Andre and Wade gave moving farewells to their dad.
After his 1st XI days at Shirley Boys’ High School, Derek by the late 1970s had been elevated into the strong Premier side at the Sydenham Cricket Club, as a gritty all-rounder. At number 5 or 6 in the order he was an attacking batsman who could hit boundaries at will, or dig in and save matches if required. When a wicket was under-prepared, with the ball nipping around, he was the ideal man to go out, literally to put his body on the line and preserve further loss of wickets. As a useful off- spin bowler and specialist cover fieldsman, he fought hard to give nothing away to an opponent. So Derek was respected as a durable, tough competitor who always played cricket in the right spirit.
By the early 1980s Derek had moved to the New Brighton Cricket Club where his feats were prolific. He quickly established himself as the dominant player in the competition. When joined by Andre and Wade, the Burrells set about smashing all suburban records.
Derek has been an important member of The Willows since our inception in 1994. After a matter of only a couple of games, Derek had scored the first of three centuries for us. This record has only just been surpassed. When Andre also made hundred, they were the first father / son combo to go up on the honours board. Such was Derek’s dominance that ex Test player Brian Hastings referred to him as “the Don of The Willows” in his match report. Derek played for over 10 years, and ended with a batting average of just under 50 runs per innings.
Derek always kept cricket in the right perspective. In 1997 versus the Police XI Derek came up against Dick Pettit, an old mate from his Sydenham days. While batting Dick chipped what Derek could only describe as a “goober” directly to him which he dropped – mortified! An over or two later Dick did the same again but this time it went to Andre, who swallowed the catch. Derek had no qualms in buying the beer at stumps.
He was a regular Club committee member with responsibilities for membership and playing uniforms. At meetings, he spoke forcefully about maintaining high standards and nurturing correctly the young talent coming through. He was an excellent mentor to young players and at the end of play always had a word of praise, encouragement, and advice for them.
We were all blessed to play both with and against Derek Burrell. He was a top bloke. Just as with the Steads, Lathams, McEwans, Nuttalls and other Canterbury families, cricket was the catalyst which drew fathers and sons together. So it was for the Burrells. But Derek was even luckier than the others. For over a decade, he spent Saturdays at Rawhiti and Sundays at Loburn running around, playing the game he loved, with his beloved sons Andre and Wade. It brought him great pride. There can be no greater legacy.