Bernie Vince - "they should just name the award after him"
UTS North Sydney District Cricket Club | June 22, 2025
When Tunks Park was announced as the Lower Grades Ground of the Year at the recent Sydney Cricket Association 2024-25 Premiers’ Dinner, there can’t have been anyone in the room who was surprised - because, in a 25-year career, Bernie Vince, the legendary curator of Tunks, has won the award no fewer than 20 times!
Bernie started with North Sydney Council in 2000 at Bon Andrews, where he picked up three Lower Grades Ground of the Year awards, before moving to Tunks after the 2003-04 season. At the ground which has been his home ever since, he’s won the award another 17 times and placed second in the other four seasons. Really, Cricket NSW should just name the award after him!
UTS North Sydney is blessed with some of the finest and best-kept grounds in Sydney, thanks to the North Sydney Council team, but Bernie truly goes above and beyond his paid role. On a Tunks matchday, he will not only be the first to arrive, but also the last to leave. We don’t need to worry about who will get chairs and tables out or repaint the creases during the innings break, because Bernie will be onto it before anyone else even thinks about it. It’s all part of the exemplary service.
Bernie bought into the Bears from the start, and has followed us through many ups and downs, but his love for and loyalty to the club doesn’t stop him providing the best possible hospitality to umpires and visiting teams too. It’s hard to think of anyone more universally respected across NSW Premier Cricket.
Over 25 years, of course the game and the club have evolved, including more short-form cricket, live streaming and the establishment and growth of our women’s section. Bernie’s embraced all of this, and has cheerfully added storing and charging the Frogbox to his long list of weekly tasks! He’s been a passionate supporter of our women from inception with one team at the bottom of the table to the powerhouse we are today – a powerhouse which needs more matchdays and more time from Bernie at Tunks.
We were very proud to host the 2024-25 Women’s Second Grade Grand Final at Tunks Park and retain the trophy on Bernie’s hallowed turf. We couldn’t get the smile off his face from the moment the first Parramatta wicket fell!
At the halfway mark in the off-season, all the Bears are looking forward to getting back on the park for 2025-26, and we’re sure none more than Bernie. Can’t wait to do it all again from September, and who would bet against a 21st award?
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