A Tribute to Rod Evans by John Benaud 1999-2000
Penrith Cricket Club | August 03, 2025
Rod "Scorch" Evans (left) presents Matt Halse with the A W Green Shield Player of the Series at the Club’s Annual Presentation.
SCORCH; ONE OF THE VERY BEST
It was one of those typical cool, grey pre-season Panther practice days at Howell Oval, among the earliest days of the new Nepean club, and Rodney Evans stood out like a ray of sunshine. He arrived with his cobber from the Shires, Bruce Wilcock, who had "character" written all over him.
They were the odd couple. Bruce's blonde thatch was untended, and his comfortable appearance suggested his cricket bag was his wardrobe and that white shoe cleaner was last used by his grandfather. He gave the ball a fair old clout, but his technique matched any axemen's at the Royal Easter.
Rodney, on the other hand, presented himself immaculately. The short, wiry, red hair seemed to have been groomed with Superglue; the creases in the creams were sharp enough to cut your hands on, and the boots sparkled. And the technique.....well! He'd only been facing the bowling for a few minutes when Trevor Wholohan sidled up to me and said in that famous whisper, "Hey JB, have you had a look at that young bloke in the second net?"
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We were all impressed instantly by the newcomer, but as the summers passed somewhat barren of the dream-of-aggregates, we, Rodney included, came to realise that his perfect technique was as useful to his career as a ball and chain is to an escaped convict. These days, over the beers he loves to share, he'll laugh about the times frustration got the better of him.
Rodney: "JB, how can I get more runs? My technique's ok, isn't it? What do you think about the elbow? High enough? What about my right wrist, JB? Or is it the left toe.....? JB: "For xxxx sake, Scorch, for the umpteenth time, there's nothing wrong with your technique. Just go out and hit the bloody ball!
Scorch most likes to have a beer with Emu, the great Ken Hall, a friendship that defines the spirit of cricket and reminds us that Rod Evans is a very special cricket person. Emu started in First Grade twenty-something summers ago and is still there. Rodney could have thrown in the towel when he realised he wasn't destined to share that paddock for even a day with Emu, but instead, to his great credit, he chose a cricket career path just as satisfying.
Cricketer and Clubman
-The 13th man for the 1978/79 first grade premiers as singer/songwriter/motivator/
-Penrith Cricket Manager for the last three seasons.
-Lower grade captain through the 90s, and in his first season as a captain, took 4s to the final in 1990/91.
-Scored a match turning 48 in a sensational century partnership (with a young Matty Halse) when his team was 3/10 in the Fifth Grade premiership win of 1996/97 - the Club's first in that grade.
-Fifth-grade captain for the last three years.
-The generous provider of a halfway house for wayward cricketers - Karppinen, Lang and Taylor, to name a few - over a long period of time.
Coaching and Development
-Metropolitan West age coach in the Cricket NSW "Emerging Blues" development programme for the last three years.
-Penrith junior development organiser for the past six years, making a major coaching contribution to Penrith AQ Green Shield success - three finals and a premiership in that time.
As Ron Halse says, and we'd surely all agree: "Scorch is the most recognisable face in Sydney Grade Cricket". They should bottle his blood!
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