2 years ago

Bankstown District Cricket Club

Sydney, Australia

10 Likes
30 Followers

Stuart Green played for Nepean/Penrith and Bankstown in Sydney Grade Cricket from 1975-76 to 1990-91. In eight seasons with Bankstown, he scored 2744 runs at 24.1 and took 93 wickets at about 24.75 with 46 catches mostly in second grade. With Penrith, Stuart captained both the Green Shield and Poidevin Gray teams.

Stuart is Bankstown first grade player number 152 and Penrith first grade player number 114.

Who are the two players you admired most in terms of skills and competitive spirit in the competitions you played?

The ultimate competitor was Geoff Spotswood. I was vice captain to him for years at Bankstown. Geoff took everything he did as a challenge for excellence and often played with the belligerence of a Rugby League front rower - I wonder why?

My best man, Tim Sullivan - a great competitor and highly skilled opening bowler. Always thinking about how to capitalise on the opponents’ weakness. I am sorry for running him out at Manly

https://www.cricconnect.com/profile/356/bankstown-district-cricket-club/blog/1242/stuart-green-do-the-best-with-what-youve-got

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2 years ago

Paul Ryan

Founder

Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

503 Likes
513 Followers

Carey stumps Bairstow and the Spirit of Cricket

In almost every game of cricket at any level around the world, you will see a wicket keeper standing back to the fast and medium pace bowlers. At some stage during an innings, the wicket keeper will take the ball the batter either let's go or misses and, in the same motion under arm it back towards the stumps in the hope the batter is out of their crease.

It's been happening since the game began and every wicket keeper, including all our favourite test keepers, have done it at some stage.

Why now, when Alex Carey, in the same motion, does it in a test match for Australia against England and Jonny Bairstow strangely walks out of his crease and is run out are some people so upset and screaming from the rooftops?

https://www.cricconnect.com/profile/32/paul-ryan/blog/1241/carey-stumps-bairstow-and-the-spirit-of-cricket

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2 years ago

Evan Bancroft

Business Owner

Brisbane, Queensland, Australia

9 Likes
0 Followers

In 2000 Neil Harvey was selected in the Australian Test team of the Century. 79 tests, 6,149 runs at 48.41 including 21 centuries made Harvey a worthy selection to bat at number 5 behind Bradman at 3 and Greg Chappell at 4.

Harvey played his first Test in January 1948 against India in Adelaide at the age of 19 and you wouldn’t believe what he went and bought when he found out he was about to make his Test debut…. a cricket bat and it was the first he’d own.

On a ‘Just Havin a Crack’ podcasts shared with Blakey and I how he played first grade district cricket in Melbourne and Shield cricket for Victoria using a bat that came from the team kit.

Imagine that, you’ve been picked to play Test cricket, to wear the baggy green, the dreams of many and you’ve done so using a cricket bat shared by all your other team mates.

https://www.cricconnect.com/profile/233/evan-bancroft/blog/1240/australian-test-cricketer-buys-his-own-cricket-bat

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2 years ago

Western Suburbs District Cricket Club Sydney

Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

69 Likes
93 Followers

Western Suburbs pile on 400 runs against Campbelltown in October 1987

It was the game the Sydney Cricket Association trialed orange balls across the first grade games. The ball seemed to be a bit harder than the norm and with the runs we had on the board and a fast bowling attack that included David Gilbert, Chris Killen, Murray Radcliffe and Brad McNamara I was really looking forward to keeping on day 2.

The scorecard above says there was rain on the Friday afternoon but my recollection is the game was called off on the Thursday afternoon after rain early in the week!!

I often think, how much fun it might have been keeping on day 2.

https://www.cricconnect.com/profile/161/western-suburbs-district-cricket-club-sydney/blog/1239/western-suburbs-pile-on-400-runs-against-campbelltown-in-october-1987

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2 years ago

Andrew King

Real Estate Agent

Mornington, Victoria, Australia

4 Likes
0 Followers

Keith Burdett is one of the great characters of Mornington Peninsula Cricket Association.

From the juniors in the MPCA to representing MPCA and Victoria Country Cricket team Keith has played an influential role in many premiership winning teams.

Who was the best wicket keeper you’ve seen firsthand playing with or against?

Brad Glenn, Jeff Calder, Andrew West and Pete Bedford were all amazing keepers in their own way.

https://www.cricconnect.com/profile/900/andrew-king/blog/1238/keith-burdett-a-beer-and-a-laugh

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2 years ago

Tony Hemming

Business Owner

Perth, Western Australia, Australia

0 Likes
0 Followers

Tony Hemming has written a book about stadium shade management research and Turf Maintenance working in the Middle East for over a 12-year period. Including working as part of the design team for the Al Wakrah stadium, Qatar, Fifa 2022 World Cup. The book is based on managing Turf under extreme temperatures and dust storms under hot drought conditions.

It’s a must read for Turf managers and design engineers wanting to learn about actual water management for warm season Turf management under the harshest environment.

https://www.cricconnect.com/profile/1105/tony-hemming/blog/1237/extreme-stadium-turf-tony-hemming

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2 years ago

Chris Dalkin

Ballarat, Victoria, Australia

0 Likes
0 Followers

Victoria Under 19 Schoolboys cricket team 1979-80

Back Row – Phillip Squire, Andrew Ingleton, David Burt, Malcolm Hill, Wayne Phillips
Middle Row – Ron Salter (Manager), Michael Quinn, Chris Dalkin, Mark Russell, Simon O’Donnell, Geoff Fontaine, Rob Slater (Coach)
Front Row – Brad Nicholls, Andrew Daff, Richard Errington (Captain), Dean Jones, Stephen Cashen

3 future Australian Test cricketers

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2 years ago

Dan Abrahams

Medical Practitioner

London, United Kingdom

1 Likes
0 Followers

‘Bazball’ is a performance approach devised by England coach Brendan McCullum that centres on England playing with assertive behaviours and with an emphasis on enjoyment.

Historically, I’ve written glowingly about ‘Bazball’…not because of the improvement it’s had on the England team, but because at its heart lies an accumulation of performance philosophies that sport psychologists have written about for years (a bit of professional nepotism for you there!)

So here’s my (respectful) grenade…

https://www.cricconnect.com/profile/1104/dan-abrahams/blog/1236/are-england-being-strategically-reckless-with-bazball

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2 years ago

Fairfield Liverpool Cricket Club

Sydney, Australia

3 Likes
7 Followers

David Kelley made his first grade debut on 29 December 1985 at just 15 years and 315 days as a very talented left hand batsman.

From 1985 to 2008 David scored 8,916 runs at an average of 29.32 with his highest score 173 not out. He scored 11 centuries and 44 half centuries and won 2 premierships with Fairfield Liverpool.

Who was the best captain you had the good fortune to play with?

I can’t recall ever playing with a captain that I thought wasn’t any good but there were 2 blokes who I believed were more than just captains. They were great man managers as well and they were Billy York and Sean Pope.

https://www.cricconnect.com/profile/397/fairfield-liverpool-cricket-club/blog/1235/david-kelley-be-the-best-you-can-be

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2 years ago

Randwick Petersham Cricket Club

Sydney, Australia

40 Likes
43 Followers

Ken Grieves joined Petersham DCC in 1941-42 scoring 62 and taking 6-78 off 22 overs in 3rd Grade v Paddington. He was immediately promoted to 2s where he hit 74 and took 10 wickets at just 14 in three games. Although only 17 years of age he was rushed into 1st Grade making 20 in his debut v Gordon at Petersham in October 1941 before going on to take the bowling honours with 32 wickets at 20.25.

A right-hand batsman and leg spin bowler he had knocked up 1,207 runs in 1st Grade, taken 71 wickets and held 41 catches, mainly at slip where he excelled, for Petersham before his 20th birthday.

https://www.cricconnect.com/profile/258/randwick-petersham-cricket-club/blog/1234/ken-grieves-randwick-petersham-cricket-club-heroes-of-the-ages

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2 years ago

Nathan Hauritz

Cricket Coach

Brisbane, Queensland, Australia

1 Likes
0 Followers

Grade cricket - The place for the cricket community to connect

You'll often see a 35-year-old bank manager who is sledging a 15-year-old and you think, 'That's just what you do in grade cricket"

But what about test cricketers that return to Grade cricket for the love of the game?

As wide-eyed juniors, the Grade Cricketer dreamed of playing cricket for Australia one day. That was before entering the dog-eat-dog world of Australian grade cricket, where their hopes and dreams were swiftly extinguished; their cricketing careers subsequently laid to rest.

Whatever reason some things don’t change once you have represented Australia and if you continue to play — you truly loved it for the right reason at the start.

Sledge away kids. The real winner is always and will be cricket.

Dreams can and do come true. Lessons I have learnt is to be always kind. No matter what.

Lessons along the way in detail

1- How you start always matters.
2- Always be prepared.
3- Water puts out fire.
4- Better together.
5- Ball by ball. Only focus on what is in front of you now.
6- The Australian team is a galvanising force
7- Captains are also human
8- Being predictable sometimes works.
9- Approach everyday as if it could be your last.
10- If your dream doesn't scare you it’s not what the higher powers want for you.

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2 years ago

Paul Ryan

Founder

Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

503 Likes
513 Followers

Damien Meek - never give up

Mateship! If you think you can’t, prove you can’t by making it….because you can……..I did

It meant that you can obtain your dream. Even if your dream had been modified since 12 years old and the team you made is the Over 50s. I believe that it worth more. More because I managed to hold on to that dream, chase it down, staying fit, focused all that way. When I got it, I just cried, cried in front of selectors and my wife who pushed me.

https://www.cricconnect.com/profile/32/paul-ryan/blog/1233/damien-meek-never-give-up

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2 years ago

Pat Rodgers

Teacher

Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

0 Likes
3 Followers

19 February 1963: the English spinner Tony Lock completed his initial season with Western Australia. 2 May 1963: the former English Test all-rounder, Jack Crawford, died in a Surrey hospital.

"So what?" I can hear you say. Well, on closer examination, not only were these two cricketers the first Test players from England to appear in the Sheffield Shield competition, but their lives and careers share quite remarkable parallels.

The Surrey county club can boast many fine players in its history. Crawford and Lock rank high among them. Crawford's talent was obvious from an early age. He had such great success as a schoolboy cricketer that he was selected for Surrey at just 17 years of age. Two years later, he was playing the first of his 12 Tests as the youngest Englishman to do so and he was also a Wisden Cricketer of the Year in 1907. The world seemed to be at his feet. However, a dispute with his county led to his venture to Australia.

https://www.cricconnect.com/profile/199/pat-rodgers/blog/1232/from-surrey-to-the-sheffield-shield

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2 years ago

St George Cricket Club

Sydney, Australia

53 Likes
54 Followers

The scorecard of Sir Donald Bradman highest score for St George District Cricket Club - 246 v Randwick in October 1931

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2 years ago

Damien Trott

Student

Melbourne, Australia

49 Likes
7 Followers

Bowlers get in trouble when they follow through down the wicket into the danger zone and scuff the wicket.

David Warner is batting so far out of the crease in the 2nd innings of the 2nd Ashes test and must be close to the same danger zone.

Can batters get in trouble for scuffing the wicket by batting so far out of the crease?

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2 years ago

Manly Warringah District Cricket Club

Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

33 Likes
21 Followers

Stephen O’Keefe has informed the club that he will return to his junior club Hawkesbury for the upcoming 2023/24 season.
The man known as ‘SOK’ has been an extremely valuable member of our club since his arrival in 2009/10. His influence on our senior playing group has been immense, especially over the last few seasons.
He has helped game day warm up of our lower grade teams at Grahams Reserve when injured, contributed to training and coaching, and always been a willing helper.
He will be sorely missed.
However, as a cricket loving club, we applaud the move.
There’s no denying that the Hawks have had their on and off field challenges over the last few years. Their entire playing grounds and facilities being metres under water, not once but twice, was upsetting to see.
Now SOK wants to return to his junior club and help.
While we don’t know all the details, what we can tell you is that SOK has always put himself last. In-fact he has taken no money over the years from us, preferring to give anything on offer to others.
So, we are confident that this move is one of love. In what will probably be his last year of playing some cricket, a local junior done good returns to his roots. There’s nothing but respect there.
Across 88 matches, SOK took 155 wickets for the Waratahs at an average of 17.35. He took a career best of 9/54 against Campbelltown in 2016/17.
He hit 1,332 runs at 28.95 with a top score of 158 in 2009/10. He hit 2 centuries and 6 half centuries.
Best of luck SOK in what will likely be your final year, and we look forward to seeing him at Manly Oval soon.

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2 years ago

Hawkesbury Cricket Club

Sydney, Australia

10 Likes
8 Followers

Stephen O'Keefe to return to Hawkesbury.
Hawkesbury Cricket Club is pleased to announce Stephen O'Keefe (SOK) will be returning to play for the club this season. SOK will be playing and will also have a mentoring role across the entire club. We wish him well for the upcoming season

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2 years ago

Paul Ryan

Founder

Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

503 Likes
513 Followers

As the pre-season training schedules were being planned for the 1996/97, Petersham like all Premier Clubs did and do, contacted their players to check if they were ready for the pre-season.

It was during the call to Greeny when he informed the caller, he was transferring to St George when he was told “you’ll never play higher than 5th grade there. “

Fast forward for 17 seasons and Steve Green decided to retire after the 2012/13 first grade grand final between St George and Sutherland.

He retired with a tremendous sense of pride and satisfaction. He played 202 first grade games for St George and took 383 wickets at an average of 19.3 including 17 x 5 wicket hauls. He is also a 4-time premiership-winning player, a Life Member and achieved one of the most celebrated careers at the St George District Cricket Club.

https://www.cricconnect.com/profile/32/paul-ryan/blog/1231/steve-green-dedicated-and-skillful

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2 years ago

Toby Radford

Cricket Coach

Greater Cardiff Area, United Kingdom

2 Likes
0 Followers

Australian batsmen at Ball Release…

Top Australian Cricket Batsman - Steve Smith, Marnus Labuschagne, David Warner and Travis Head - all shown here against England adopting similar well-balanced positions at ball release

At ball release they…

• Position their back foot and head close to the line of off stump (the business area)
• Keep their hands close to the body and under the head for optimum balance (creating an imaginary straight line from the head, through the hands to the feet)
• Have their head and body weight slightly forward to enable quick and easy movement forward and back 🏏 🇦🇺

#keepitsimple #alignment #balance

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2 years ago

Brett Mortimer

Business Development Manager

Brisbane, Queensland, Australia

1 Likes
0 Followers

My Best Grade Team - Brett Mortimer 1990 to 2002

I was lucky enough to play in many premierships during the glory days of Sandgate - Redcliffe Cricket Club. My team was hard to pick and includes some of Queensland and Premier Cricket’s greatest ever players.

Here's my Best Grade team in batting order:

1. Trevor Barsby
Legend off the club. Retired from rep cricket and back to Sandgate to captain us to our first flag
2. Jerry Cassell
Should have played more games for QLD. Great talent. Scored some big shield hundreds. He joined the gators from Wynnum.
3. Peter Goggin

https://www.cricconnect.com/profile/1008/brett-mortimer/blog/1230/my-best-grade-team-brett-mortimer-1990-to-2002

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