AS well as the incentive of needing to win to be a chance of playing finals, Strathdale-Maristians' second XI will have some added motivation on Saturday when Sean McCann plays his 200th club game.
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McCann will notch the milestone when the Suns' second XI play Kangaroo Flat at N8 Health Oval.
McCann first played with the Suns in the 1993-94 BDCA season as a 19-year-old after crossing to Strathdale from Bendigo United, where he had played all his junior cricket and got his first taste in the first XI.
"The opportunity to wicket-keep and bat in the top order was the reason why I made the move to Strathdale," McCann said on Thursday.
In a touch of cricketing irony, two years after leaving Bendigo United, McCann took on his former side in the 1994-95 grand final.
The Suns won the 1995 flag by five wickets in what was a premiership that was celebrated with a 20-year reunion last weekend.
McCann made 11 and took two catches in the grand final win. A week earlier he claimed six catches and two stumpings in the semi-final victory over White Hills.
As well as the 1994-95 first XI premiership, McCann has also won two second XI flags with the Suns.
McCann spent four years away from the club when he moved to Mildura, before returning in 2004-05 to take over as coach, while he's now into his third season as president.
"I'm lucky I've got a supportive family that allows me to keep playing and take on those administrative roles," McCann said.
"I like all facets of the club... we've got a great committee to work with off the field and a really good playing group on the field."
McCann’s career stats for the Suns read 5605 runs at an average of 34.3 with six centuries, 33 half-centuries and a highest score of 162.
McCann's top score of 162 came against Sandhurst in round nine of the 2002-03 season when the Suns plundered a BDCA first XI record score of 6-553.
Two games later he cracked 150 n.o. against Huntly-North Bendigo during a season in which he averaged a league-best 111.
McCann has also taken 144 catches for the Suns.