Tomorrow Phil Coe will return to the 1st Grade side of North Canberra-Gungahlin after almost a 14 year hiatus. In doing this he becomes the player with the third highest number of days between 1st Grade matches in ACT 1st Grade history.

The highest is Marcus Cosgrave who played for Western District-UC and had 6230 days between 1990 and 2007. Marcus played 14 matches for Wests in 1st Grade between 1985/86 and 1989/90 and then two matches on his return in 2006/07.

Next is Harry Oldfield who played for Queanbeyan and he missed 5362 days between 1934 and 1948. A mitigating circumstance for Harry was that there was no competition cricket in the ACT between 1940/41 and 1946/47. Harry played for Queanbeyan between 1930/31 and 1933/34 and then between 1948/49 and 1952/53, playing 36 matches in total and also representing the FCT (as it was then known) in 1931/32.

Phil Coe is next on the list with 5095 days. A wicket-keeper, Phil has so far played 60 matches between 1998/99 and 2004/05 but has been a stalwart of the lower grades since then.

Paul Nemes missed 4655 days between 2000/01 and 2013/14 when he played a single match. Phil played his final match for Tuggeranong Valley after playing 148 1st Grade matches in total, three of which were for Queanbeyan. His previous match was for Queanbeyan while his previous match for Tuggeranong Valley was in 1998/99. For days between Tuggeranong 1st Grade matches it is 5390.

Robbie van Aalst missed 4307 days between matches for Western District-UC. He missed 1st Grade matches between 2004/05 and 2016/17, playing 24 matches in his 1st Grade career, 18 between 2002/03 and 2004/05 and 6 from 2016/17 to 2017/18.

Paul Stephens missed 4053 days between 1994/95 and 2005/06 for Norths. He played 65 matches between 1985/86 and 1994/95 for Northern Suburbs and Canberra North Daramalan and played a further two matches for North Canberra-Gungahlin in 2005/06.

The final player with more than 4000 days between matches is Alan Lea. Alan Lea missed 4039 days between 1937/38 and 1948/49. He played 87 1st Grade matches in total for Westridge (1926/27), Canberra (1927/28) and Kingston (1928/29-1937/38 and 1948/49-1949/50). He also played for the FCT between 1928/29 and 1931/32.

Most Days between ACT 1st Grade Matches

6230 Marcus Cosgrave (1990-2007)

5362 Harry Oldfield (1934-1948)

5095 Phil Coe (2004-2018)*

4655 Phil Nemes (2001-2013)

4307 Robbie van Aalst (2005-2017)

4053 Paul Stephens (1995-2006)

4039 Alan Lea (1938-1949)