Mitch Winter-Irving’s long-awaited return to Nagambie arrives this weekend

There is a contingency.

Mitch and Hamish Winter-Irving are the brothers at the crease.

And, thanks to a 115-run ninth-wicket partnership from the royally-talented siblings, Central Park-St Brendan’s would sneak away with a famous flag win over Karramomus to keep the Tigers’ dynasty alive.

Thirteen years later we could see a similar situation unfold again.

Mitch, the oldest of the Winter-Irvings, has rejoined youngest brother Zac at Nagambie for the 2023-24 season and will suit up for his first game on Saturday after missing round one.

He had a good enough reason ― even the sternest skippers have to excuse a player for their honeymoon.

The 32-year-old last played at the Lakers in 2011-12 after his quadruple premiership-winning stint at Central Park, moving onto Footscray for two seasons before spending the past eight years at Bendigo club White Hills.

Winter-Irving said now was as good a time to link back up with his little brother.

“It’s just something I’d always wanted to do, to get back and play with my youngest brother and some close mates that I grew up with,” he said.

“I guess it was more just the time of it worked out that this is a better year to do it. It’ll be a new challenge.

“Prep has been pretty good. I’m feeling all right and hopefully I can contribute to the team and help them out.”

‘‘Frosty’’ ran hot for White Hills last season.

The skilled all-rounder peeled off 582 runs at 38.8 while snaring 17 wickets in the Bendigo District Cricket Association, finishing just outside the finals bracket.

However, he has loftier ambitions set for his Nagambie reunion.

The Lakers missed out on finals last season, but with the inclusion of Josh Sanderson, Nathan Fothergill and Winter-Irving, seem poised to make an almighty beeline for finals come March.

“The squad has been pretty strong over the last few years and hopefully I can add a bit of experience to the team and top up a little bit,” he said.

“There are a couple of other boys coming back as well, so the ambitions are pretty high for the team to go as far as we can.

“Katandra won it last year, but we’re not far away.”

Katandra may be the benchmark, but the Eagles are a long way off holding the kind of iron-fisted grip on the competition as Central Park-St Brendan’s did in the late 2000s.

As it happens, some of Winter-Irving’s best memories were born during the Tigers’ halcyon era.

He’s hit an unbeaten double ton, strolled past 6000 career runs and has taken five-fors, but the homegrown Nagambie boy singled out that day at Deakin as his most memorable moment.

“I was there (at Central Park) for a few years, as I finished school I played three or four years up there which was unreal,” he said.

“It was a great time to be around, there were some really good players.

“The flags were pretty massive. I think the one when I played in with ‘Ham’ was pretty big, I think we were about 8-50 that day and we ended up winning, so that was pretty awesome.”

It’s clear family has played an enormous role in Winter-Irving’s sporting life.

A multi-talent in cricket and football, he spent countless afternoons on the family patch with younger siblings Hamish, Kyle and Zac tossing the Sherrin, Kookaburra or whatever was in reach.

All four have gone on to forge glittering careers in one sport or another and we’ll get to see a glimpse of that brotherly competitiveness and companionship when Nagambie hosts Old Students on Saturday.

“(Having) three younger brothers, we pretty much lived outside,” he said.

“We didn’t spend too much time inside, it was either footy or cricket or any other sport pretty much.

“It was good for all of us, I think it helped develop us as young kids and we all loved it. I guess that’s where it all started.”