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last year



Bret Kneller – Life Member of Cardiff Boolaroo District Cricket Club

Congratulations Bret “Betsy” Kneller

Last Monday at our 75th Annual General Meeting, Bret Kneller was unanimously elected to receive Life Membership of Cardiff Boolaroo District Cricket Club.

This title is held for our most exceptional members to acknowledge their contribution and service to the club on and off the field. Bret embodies this over many decades as evidenced in his endorsement by Life Member, Mr John Porcheron:

“I am pleased to endorse the nomination of Bret (Betsy) Kneller for Life Membership of Cardiff Boolaroo DCC.

In my time as President of the Club Bret was someone, I could always seek advice from with his broad knowledge of Newcastle cricket & what works & more importantly what what doesn't work.

The Knellers were the mainstays of the CB's in the 2000's - Bret & James both serving as CB president - parents Eric & Halina helping the CB's remain viable & successful. Bret has also served on the CB's general committee for many years.

After a major health setback Bret returned to the field with success & is still piling on runs in 3rd Grade where he also seeks to assist the talented young cricketers in our Club.
Currently sitting third in all time CB runs at over 7,300 as well as being a former seamer with more than 200 wickets Bret's ability speaks for itself in numbers - important in a game like cricket. I couldn't estimate how many matches he has played but it would be a big number.

Off field Bret is legend in CB folklore for the many nights cricket matches at his home "The Ranch" over the years where many unorthodox shots were required on the manicured pitch in his front lawn. He also specialises in trivia running many successful nights for the CB's & penning late late-night poetry over a glass of red or two.

I believe he would be a very worthy addition to the CB Life Member list.

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Vale John Pearson

It is with extreme sadness, I report the passing of Life Member no. 26, John Pearson. John passed away in respite care on Monday evening 8 July. The dialysis treatment he had been receiving eventually got too much for his heart. He was 76.

John Pearson played just two seasons, 13 years apart, with Petersham-Marrickville, yet he was one of the most influential members of the club in the 1980s and through to its merger with Randwick in 2001. After beginning his cricket career with Balmain, he joined Petes in 1968-69 but was forced to transfer to the new Sydney club the following season when residential boundaries were changed. Some 12 years later, he was back in Petersham-Marrickville’s colours.

Increasing family and work commitments, however, saw him retire as a player at the end of the 1981-82 season. But he was not lost to the club and later served as Club Coach and Hon Treasurer. He was also a Delegate to the NSWCA and Sydney Cricket Association for 10 years before taking over as President of the club until December 1995.

During his time as President, he provided outstanding leadership when the club was under continual threat for amalgamation or exclusion from the 1st Grade competition. He and Hon Secretary Tim Dein formed a formidable duo in seeing off many such threats. His contribution to the Petersham-Marrickville club was formally recognised in 1996 when he was elected a Life Member. Four years later in the year 2000, he was awarded the Australian Sports Medal by the Governor-General.

John Pearson was a very successful Sydney Grade cricketer scoring 5,080 1st Grade runs with four centuries and 23 fifties in a career spanning 13 seasons. All but 46 of those were with the Sydney club. With his lower grade performances, his overall tally exceeds 6,000 runs. He also took close to 100 wickets across all competitions.

John was a great supporter of the merger with Randwick to form Randwick Petersham Cricket. He maintained his involvement as a valued Director of the Randwick Petersham Cricket Foundation and a committee member of the club supporter’s group, known as the Randwick Petersham Cricket Legends Society. He and son Corey are also the joint sponsors of the “Clive Johnston Memorial Award”, an annual presentation to the club’s best under 21 Poidevin-Gray player.
Funeral details will be advised when known.

RIP John Pearson. One of the greats and a club legend in every respect.

Lyall Gardner OAM

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last year



The Rosebud Cricket Club are very excited to announce that AJ King will be joining our club as Assistant Coach.

Coming from Sorrento where he had an outstanding career highlighted by being a member of the Sorrento Team of the 25 years from 1990 to 2015 and also 2010-2020 Team of the Decade.

A former Country Week member of both the MPCA 1sts and 2nds sides AJ has been a prominent Provincial bowler within the MPCA for many years.

AJ coached Tootgarook for two seasons before injuries unfortunately took their toll and his dodgy knees finally packed it in.

AJ will work closely with newly appointed Coach Geoffrey Glaum and we can’t wait to see what these two can bring to our club.

We also welcome Carlie, Harrison and new born Hamish to Shark Park.

Two great Coaching appointments along with some really good recruits makes for an exciting 24/25 season.

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last year



HEAD COACH ANNOUNCEMENT

We are excited to announce Jarryd Gordon as the new head coach of the Hurricanes.

Jarryd was a formidable player in his own right, having played 1st Grade for the Hurricanes. He also played 1st Grade at Blacktown and Sydney grade clubs, and lead the 2nd grade team at Hawkesbury.

Jarryd made the transformation from playing to coaching having coached at Sydney Cricket Club, Blacktown, and Auburn Shires. His diverse coaching experience and deep understanding of the game will undoubtedly benefit our club and pathway as we aim for new heights.

Please join us in welcoming Jarryd to the Hurricanes.

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last year



Vale John O’Reilly

It is with deep sadness that we record the passing of John O’Reilly, 1st Grade player no. 186.

John was an outstanding all rounder representing the Club from 1957/58 to 1965/66.

In those nine seasons he captured 304 wickets and with Keith Francis was the mainstay of the attack. John also represented NSW on 7 occasions in a career that was interrupted by a work transfer to Canberra.

John attended the Centenary of 1st Grade Dinner in 2022 and appreciated the opportunity to catch up with his former teammates Warren Saunders and Brian Booth. It was Warren who introduced John to his future wife, Patricia, who was Warren’s cousin. John’s son Peter also played with the Club and is 1st Grade player no. 275.

As can be seen from the attached article from CricConnect John had an interesting and very successful life both on and off the field and we extend our sympathies to his family.

John will be laid to rest in a private ceremony next week.

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Connor Hindmarch – new HKHDCCA Head Coach

The Coaches' Association is pleased to announce that Connor Hindmarch, the winner of the HKHDCCA President’s Award for 2023-24, has been appointed as its new Head Coach, replacing the retiring Rod Hokin.

Connor has been an outstanding coach at our school holiday junior cricket clinics, Blowfly Cricket sessions, and RTC / GHC fixtures since 2022-23 (a total of 25 days HKHDCCA service).

He is a local product who has played cricket for WPHCCC - West Pennant Hills Cherrybrook Cricket Club since 2010, as well as representative cricket for Hornsby Ku-ring-gai & Hills District Cricket Association. Connor played school cricket in the Pennant Hills HS First XI team from 2015 – 2019. He attended many Coaches' Association school holiday clinics in his youth and won the prestigious Phillip Hughes Medal in January 2015 at MTO, Waitara.

Connor completed the Cricket Australia Representative (Level 2) Accredited Coaching Course in 2023. Since 2019-20, he has successfully coached HK&HDCA representative teams (U/13 Gee Shield in 2023 24). He worked for Cricket NSW / Sydney Sixers as a casual Cricket Program Co-ordinator (school and holiday programs) from 2020 – 2023. He has been a cricket coach (Years 7 – 11) at The King's School, North Parramatta, since 2022-23.

From 2023 onwards, Connor has been the Head Coach of the WPHCCC - West Pennant Hills Cherrybrook Cricket Club Academy, organising pre season Skills Clinics; Schools Programs; developing young male & female coaches in our Club; and conducting a Girls coaching program.

Connor has a great work ethic and is a future Leader within the cricket community. He has been a member of the HKHDCCA General Committee and will now take on an office-bearer role on the Executive Committee.

Connor’s first clinic as the HKHDCCA Head Coach will be our school holiday cricket clinic at MTO, Waitara on 9 – 10 July 2024.

Registrations are filling up rapidly for this clinic (we are about 20 boys & girls short of another ‘sell out’), so please book your child’s spot ASAP to avoid disappointment. The registration link is: 🏏

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last year



This is a huge day for Wests Cricket!

We are delighted to announce the signing of Australian representative and current Sydney Sixer player Josh Phillippe!

Josh has recently signed a contract with Cricket NSW, which means he is in the process of migrating from Perth to Sydney. We are delighted that he has decided to play his premier cricket at the Magpies.

His experience at the highest level, professionalism and leadership are all incredibly valuable assets that we believe will have an enormous impact on our playing group and will help us go to the next level.

We are looking forward to giving him a Magpies welcome!

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last year



Northern District Cricket Club is proud to announce the appointment of Michael Phillips as the Women’s First Grade Coach and Women’s Head Coach for Season 2024/25.

Michael takes over the role of Women’s First Grade Coach from Daniel Drew who has decided to step-down from the role to focus on his work with the Australian Men’s Blind Cricket Team and his other priorities outside of cricket! The club is very thankful for the amazing service he has provided to the club over the last 3 years and wish him all the very best for the future.

Michael has been involved in the game as a player, administrator, and coach for over 30 years. In season 2023/24 he coached our Women’s Second Grade Team.

He has a Level 2 Representative Coaching Accreditation and has overseen the Cricket NSW Zone Academy program on the Central Coast for the past 2 years, which saw the Central Coast win both the U16s and U19s Country Championships for the first time.

Michael is a great administrator and communicator and has a strong focus on investing in the players to create a culture of mutual support, teamwork, and performance.

As well as looking after the First Grade team, Michael will also oversee the Coaching Program for the entire Women’s program, working closely with all the team coaches to create uniformity across the grades.

We congratulate Michael on this appointment and look forward to season 2024/25!

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Queensland Cricket has unveiled a new-look Elite Cricket structure that will underpin its State teams and deliver stronger links with Premier Cricket.

A Queensland Cricket Academy has been introduced for 2024-25, with an emphasis on providing specialist coaching to players identified as being in contention for future selection at Toyota 2nd XI, Marsh Sheffield Shield, Marsh One Day Cup, women’s T20 and KFC Big Bash League level.

The 12 players selected in the initial male squad intake come from outside the 2024-25 Queensland Bulls contracted player squad and include Brisbane Heat allrounder Jack Wood, Australian Under-19 World Cup batter Tom Campbell, his Wests teammate Steve McGiffin and Valley wicket-keeper Dylan McLachlan (pictured on Bulls debut last season).

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Vale Stan Beal

It is my very sad duty to advise that Stan Beal, one of the club’s most popular and respected members, passed away in Prince of Wales Hospital, last night 12 June after a short illness. He was 73.

Stan joined the old Randwick club as 2nd Grade scorer in 1986-87 at the suggestion of workmate and former 1st Grade skipper, Gary Bensley. The following season he progressed to score for the 1st Grade side while undertaking the role of Publicity Officer. Within a year, he had added Practice Captain to his busy schedule. That was the beginning of a multitude of roles he would go on to perform for the club over a period of 37 years.

Despite battling health issues throughout his life, Stan was a tireless worker who may best be described as the ultimate volunteer. He was also CEO and Assistant CEO for Randwick, Operations Manager, committee member, Chairman of Selectors, delegate to the local junior council, manager and scorer of the Poidevin-Gray team. For Randwick Petersham he was Practice Captain and 2nd Grade scorer for many years, 1st Grade scorer on occasions while providing voluntary assistance whenever help was needed.

Apart from his documented activities, Stan’s assistance in providing accommodation for players, finding them jobs and generally acting as mentor and friend to many, cannot be measured in any material way. The huge number of “thank-you’s” directed to Stan in the end-of-season reports of captains in the club annual reports over the years, is testimony to the assistance he provided and the esteem in which he was held.

At the Annual General Meeting in 2019, President Mike Whitney made a special award to Stan, acknowledging a contribution to the club and cricket, well beyond what may be expected by the most devoted of volunteers.

Stan Beal was one of a kind and will be sorely missed. Funeral details will be advised when available.

RIP Stan Beal.

Lyall Gardner

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