Michael Angwin Awarded Life Membership

At the 2025 Annual General Meeting, Michael Angwin was unanimously elected Life Member of the Canterbury Cricket Club.

Sue Bach presented Michael with his Life Membership badge.

Former Club Secretary Sam Warner reflected on Michael's contributions over his many years at the Club.

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Mike’s association with Canterbury, like so many of us, begun with the Junior program in the late 90’s. His son Jack had joined coach Gary Gavin’s U/12C’s side and wanting to contribute, Mike took on the unenviable duties of Team Manager and Assistant Coach. After several years in this role, Jack moved on to Carey Grammar and had to give up his CCC career, however in that time Mike had reacquired the cricketing bug of his youth and with soon to be long-term partner in crime, John Kent, helped to form the first Canterbury Cricket Club Veterans side – the Over 40s.

After several seasons with the Over 40s, Mike brought up his own half-century and along with an ever-growing cohort of like-minded (and aged) players, helped to establish the Over 50s, who Mike captained to their inaugural Premiership in season 2010/11. In 2017, Mike led the formation of Canterbury’s highly regarded Over 60s side, continuing in his role as Team Manager and all-round organizer. From this position, Mike encouraged the Club to support the 60’s entering the Echuca Carnival, a now ‘must attend’ annual fixture for many in Canterbury’s Vets community. Despite ageing out of the Over 60s in recent seasons, Mike has continued his participation at Echuca and was a key figure in getting a second Canterbury side into the competition, a remarkable accomplishment, speaking to the strength and success of the 60s program, when considering most sides at Echuca are regional representative teams, not individual clubs like Canterbury.

Having ‘aged out’ of the Over 60s, in 2022 Mike was instrumental in partnering with a like-minded group of cricketers from Mornington Cricket Club to establish a combined Over 70s team. With the ongoing growth of the Over 60s program at Canterbury, this new pathway will allow many older but no less passionate cricketers to continue their association with our Club on the field in the years to come, and Mike is largely to thank for this opportunity.

Wanting to take the success of Canterbury’s Veterans program on the road, in the early-to-mid 2010s Mike joined forces with Brian Clarke to plan what would affectionately be termed ‘The Rebel Tours’. Travelling to the U.K with many cricketing mad father-son combinations in toe, the tour would prove so successful that several iterations would be formed (usually aligning with the Ashes) in subsequent years. It is fair to say Mike’s role as informal ‘CCC Ambassador’ and tour supervisor established tremendous good will with several English Clubs, paving the way for repeat matches in latter years.

To call Mike’s contribution to Canterbury’s Veterans community ‘significant’ would be a disservice to his efforts of over 20 years. He is very much a founding member of their organization, and arguably their greatest ever advocate. His work on the behalf of CCC’s Veterans alone, rightly qualifies him for Life Membership, and yet it is contribution behind the scenes on Committee, to which the Club owes him its greatest debt.

Joining the Committee during Tom Hickie’s second tenure as President, Mike would go on to serve more than a decade under Tom, then Paul Townsend, and finally Peter Jago. His professional experience at the highest levels of both state and federal government, alongside roles at Rio Tinto and on the Australian Business Council, gave Mike the capacity and contacts to position Canterbury strongly during several recent and pivotal events.

Mike was the Clubs’ point-man and chief organizer during the Level Crossing Removal Project battle to protect Canterbury Sports Ground from use as a dumping and construction yard. Leveraging his contacts within local and state government, while simultaneously coordinating a media campaign with the aid of public figures like fellow Life Member Francis Burke, Mike was instrumental protecting the ground for the community and Club. It is fair to say, without his drive and leadership during this period to protect the ground, the Canterbury Cricket Club may not have survived to be the community asset it is today.

More recently, Mike chaired the inter-club panel on the facility redevelopment at Canterbury Sports ground, working his contacts at council and government level to help obtain not only $1.25M in funding, but a building that will be fit for purpose for many years to come.

Finally, Mike’s incredible efforts seeking out and obtaining grants on behalf of the Club undoubtedly saved Canterbury from financial ruin during the COVID-19 pandemic. His subsequent work in this area also gained the Club grants from Cricket Australia to help fit out the new CSG facility, from Cricket Victoria for the establishment and growth of the Women’s program, and from the state and local government for ongoing Club costs. All-in-all, Mike’s work in this area has helped the Club obtain well over $60k in recent years.

As if Mike’s fundraising and advocacy efforts haven’t been enough by themselves, he’s continued to offer his support at dozens of Club events over the years as an organizer and attendee. His calm, logical, and always well thought out approach to challenges have been an invaluable asset to his fellow players, Committee members, and the Presidents he has served under.

There are few people who have contributed more to the Canterbury Cricket Club over the last quarter century than Mike Angwin. His elevation to Life Membership is thoroughly well deserved and as a Club, we thank and congratulate Mike for all that he has done.