IT was the ultimate pilgrimage for Southampton grandad Roy Honeybone, who arrived in Australia just in time to surprise his adored grandson ahead of his big sporting occasion. 

Roy, 76, from Woolston, thought he would never see 25-year-old Luke Evans play cricket again after he emigrated to Australia in 2020.

Having spent years on Hampshire boundaries with his camera, the retired Mansbridge School deputy head and talented photographer had to make do with watching late night live streams from Down Under. 

That was until St Patrick's Cricket Club reached Cricket Albury-Wodonga's provincial grand final and Luke's club and teammates raised the cash to make sure their number one fan was there. 

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Roy inspired Luke to play cricket, initially with Cadnam and subsequently South Wilts, where he won Southern Premier League titles and was named Young Cricketer if the Year.

Luke explained: "I told the boys a few weeks ago about my upbringing and what my Grandad means to me. For him to turn up was a massive surprise. It means everything to me."

Club secretary Gus MacLeod and Luke’s fiancée Lucy Chalmers made plans to fly Roy to Melbourne, 300kms away.

"Within two hours we’d raised A$3,000, with 30 people chipping in," Gus revealed. "There wasn’t a dry eye in the house after Luke had told his story. He’s had to navigate through some difficult times as a young fella and Roy was the father figure in his life growing up.

"Roy’s the number one ticket holder at St Pat’s. Despite having never seen us play, he knows every stat and stays up late at night to watch us.

"Grand finals don’t come around all that often, so we thought this would be a fantastic memory for Roy and Luke."

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Luke got the shock of his life when he answered the door to see his grandad standing on the doorstep on the eve of the match.

"I've met a lot of good people in my life and I've experienced a lot of good deeds but nothing quite compares to this," said Roy. 

Roy's trip didn’t have such a happy ending on the field as Lavington prevailed, but he was snapping away as Luke took two wickets, celebrating his 100th competitive wicket for the club.