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3 years ago



25 January 1985 was the start of the 4 day Sheffield shield game between New South Wales and Victoria at the MCG.

After 175.2 overs Victoria were bowled out for 438 and NSW opener John Dyson strode to the crease alongside his new opening partner, debutant Wayne Seabrook.

In what many of the players involved in the game describe as one of the most dynamic debut innings in the history of Australian first class cricket Wayne Seabrook against a Victoria attack that included Merv Hughes, Simon Davis, Peter King and Ray Bright scored 165.

NSW declared at 9 for 442 and the game ended in a draw with first innings points to NSW.

Wayne played 3 more first class games before the end of the 1984/85 season and went into the off season full of hope and determination to capitalise on the opportunity to cement his position at the top of the order for NSW.

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3 years ago



The legendary West Indian fast bowler, Wes Hall, now Sir Wesley Hall, played for the old Randwick cricket club in the 1965-66 season. It was the first time an international cricketing superstar had played in Sydney Grade Cricket. Needless to say, Wes was a real hit, taking 56 wickets, getting Randwick into the semi-finals and bringing flocks of people to view the action at Coogee Oval each Saturday. Wes subsequently returned to Randwick in 2000 as guest speaker at the club’s Centenary Dinner at Randwick Racecourse.

Earlier this year, former Randwick leg-spinner, Mark Preddey, toured West Indies with an Australian over 60s team. During the tour, he met up with Sir Wesley at Kensington Oval, Barbados, where he was signing copies of a book on his life. Mark was quickly in line to get a copy and had a wonderful chat with the great man who was delighted to learn he was an old Randwick player.

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3 years ago



Michael Wood made his first grade debut for Parramatta during the 1998/99 season and is the clubs first grade player number 514.

Over the next 16 seasons Michael scored 7,098 first grade runs including 9 centuries. He took 332 wickets and took 5 wickets or more in an innings on 8 occasions.

He was twice runner up in the Bill O’Reilly Medal for the player of the season in NSW premier Cricket and was awarded life membership to the Parramatta Cricket Club in 2015.

Let’s find out more about Michael’s journey in the game

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3 years ago



The Contrived Result - North Sydney thrown out of Sydney Grade Cricket Semi Finals in 1994-95

The 1994-95 Sydney Grade Cricket Season will always be remembered by every administrator, every player and every club that played in that First-Grade finals series.

It was the season of the infamous “Contrived Result “which culminated in the North Sydney Bears being thrown out of the First-Grade finals by the SCA and then North Sydney taking the SCA to Court. This resulted in the First-Grade semi-finals being pushed back a week while both parties slugged it out at Macquarie St Courthouse

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3 years ago



Don Bradman once said Bob Radford, the former CEO of NSW Cricket, was the best sporting administrator before lunch!

It is well documented that Mr Radford was a superb sporting executive and also loved a little more than a tipple of alcohol.

Bob was the CEO at NSW Cricket when I was first selected in the NSW State squad when I was 18. It was legendary that his ability to consume alcohol over lunch and remember every business detail was uncanny. He was direct, unique and hard working. He also could tear shreds off people for underperforming. He demanded excellence.

I remember being summoned to his office for the first time at Cricket NSW to be greeted with the following;

“Welcome! Do you like beer?

“Yes, Mr Radford.”

“Good - You will go a long way here. Let’s go to lunch, my shout.”

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3 years ago



My best Grade team - Dean Magee 1989 - 2012

I’ve been really enjoying reading former Sydney Grade players pick their best teams so I thought, why not, it can’t be that difficult to pick my best team.

Wow, it was a lot tougher than I originally thought it would be.

See in my playing days at Bankstown and Fairfield, I was fortunate to play with probably the two best bowling attacks at one time or another.

At Bankstown we had Wayne Holdsworth, Scot Thompson, Nathan Bracken, David Freedman, Ken Hall and then at Fairfield we had Don Nash, Doug Bollinger, Grant Lambert, Jason Krejza and Anthony Clark.

To clarify I played at Bankstown from 1989 to 1999. Fairfield 2000 to 2004 and then back to Bankstown from 2005 to 2012.

Well here goes, my Best grade team from players I played with, in batting order:

1. Corey Richards – Bankstown. Genius player, best batsman I have played with

2. Grant Lambert – Fairfield. All round machine

3. Kevin Roberts – Bankstown and Captain. Robocop, scored some amazing 100’s

4. Ben Rohrer – Fairfield. Fantastic player & created run outs in the field that others couldn’t

5. Shane Deitz – Bankstown and Wicket keeper. Great keeper, loved the short ball.

6. Scott Thompson – Bankstown. Best competitor you could ever play with, could bowl like the wind on his day & hit the ball as hard as anyone.

7. Jason Krejza – Fairfield. To this day, I have never seen a finger spinner get as much turn as Jason. Good with the stick also.

8. Don Nash – Fairfield. None better at swinging them both ways & was handy with the bat.

9. David Freedman – Bankstown. Can’t leave Fred out, fantastic bowler & great competitor.

10. Wayne Holdsworth – Bankstown. Easy selection.

11. Doug Bollinger – Fairfield. Came from nowhere and ruled the world for a time. Great competitor.

12th man - Brett Van Deinsen - Bankstown. Just couldn’t find a spot, but if someone was injured, he could bat, bowl, field, so pretty decent replacement.

Coach – Steve Small - Bankstown

Manager – Ken Hall - Bankstown

Scorer – Arty Cooper - Bankstown

It was tough to leave out Nathan Bracken, David Kelley, Paul Maraziotis, Sean Pope, Dean Waugh, Anthony Clark but you can only play with 11.

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3 years ago



My Grand Final nightmare

In season 2006/07 Bankstown beat Randwick in the One Day competition Grand Final and as we were well placed in the overall competition the thought of wining the double was quite exciting.

It became even more so when we beat a star studded Sydney University team in the semi-final to advance to the big show. The Sydney University team included Stuey MacGill, Ed Cowan, Greg Mail, and Mark Cameron just to name a few. So we were pretty excited to win and we, well I did, wanted to celebrate.

Our grand final opponents was to be Fairfield, my old team and where many were and still are some of my best mates. Grant Lambert (Lambo) Dougy Bollinger, Anthony Clark, Benny Rohrer….. you beauty, this is going to be a cracking grand final.

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3 years ago



Richmond Cricket Club v Melbourne Cricket Club semi-final at Punt Road March 1976

There have been few more intense, dramatic, or competitive Melbourne club cricket finals than the District (now Premier) Cricket Semi-Final played between Richmond and Melbourne at the Punt Road Oval in 1976.

Richmond had finished the 1975-76 season well clear on top of the Ladder and had only to avoid defeat to progress to the Grand Final.

A draw - or a tie - was sufficient.

But Melbourne had no choice, it HAD to win!

The four innings’ Semi-Final, played over three days, came down to the last ball of the match - in near darkness at the Punt Road Oval - with Richmond needing only a single to tie the game and to progress to the Grand Final.

At 6:50pm on the third day, Richmond’s (and Australian Test team) number 11, Jim Higgs, was run out by centimetres - scampering for the equalising run which would have seen his team through.

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3 years ago



After a coaching career spanning well over 40 years, I am often asked to name the best cricketers that I have coached.

A very difficult decision after spending many years of coaching cricket with CNSW Youth Squads, NSW Junior Cricket Union, Westfields Sports High School, Bankstown DCC, Bankstown District Cricket Association, Camden District Cricket Association and a number of junior Clubs, There are so many cricketers worthy of note, that I thought it would be easier to select a side made up of those cricketers that I coached in their junior years, who then went on to further their careers, subsequently progressing to play cricket at a FIRST Class level.

So here goes (and my apologies to any player/s that I may have overlooked);

STEVE WAUGH (Bankstown DCC and DCA), MARK WAUGH (Bankstown DCC and DCA), USMAN KHAWAJA (Westfields SHS), WAYNE HOLDSWORTH (Bankstown DCC), PHIL JACQUES (CNSW Youth Squads), NATHAN BRACKEN (NSWJCU and BDCC), JOSH LALOR (Westfields SHS), SIMON KEEN (Bankstown DCC and Westfields SHS), SCOTT THOMPSON (Bankstown DCC and DCA), DANIEL SAMS (Bankstown DCC), DAVID FREEDMAN (Bankstown DCA) SHANE DEITZ (Bankstown DCC).

Other players considered for selection: MITCHELL CLAYDON (Westfields SHS), SCOTT HOOKEY (Bankstown DCC), GRAEME RUMMANS (NSWJCU), SCOTT PRESTWIDGE (Bankstown DCC and DCA), DEAN WAUGH (Bankstown DCC), VAUGHAN WILLIAMS (Bankstown DCC), DANIEL SOLWAY (Bankstown DCC), GRANT RODEN (Bankstown DCC), HANNAH DARLINGTON (Westfields SHS), KATE WAETFORD (WSHS).

As I stated, there are a whole lot of players from over my coaching years who I would consider selecting in "Best Of" teams, but the task would be an endless one, and I wouldn't want to disappoint any of the huge list of fine young cricketers that I was able to assist during their junior careers.

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3 years ago



Even Wisden was aghast, cricket’s bible rating it a ‘bombshell’ – among the biggest in history. Knight-to-be Ian Botham called it ‘illogical, pathetic and diabolical’. Others were less compassionate. An Australian playing for England? Surely not! Melbourne roof tiler Darren Pattinson walked into the breakfast room at England’s Leeds hotel and introduced himself to his captain, Michael Vaughan. They’d never met. He was as stunned as everyone else.

It was match morning at Headingley and Pattinson, 28, was on standby after just five games with Victoria and six with Nottinghamshire.

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3 years ago



Extract from My family's Keeper

NSW Shield Squad Training

Well I couldn’t just stand around like a shag on a rock, so I took myself over to Phil Emery and asked if he needed some catches. He did, and that was the beginning of an invaluable 12 months that basically formed the next stage of my apprenticeship.

I didn’t do much catching myself with him – I was there to throw and hit endless balls to help him in his preparation. But by doing that I got an outstanding education. We built a good relationship and he answered countless questions. A lot of it was technical. He would tell me to hit balls to him in certain ways to certain spots. When we took a break I’d ask him why he’d made those choices, what he was working on. I’d also draw on his huge match experience, asking him, “What happens when it kicks out of the rough, or when it’s keeping low? Where do you stand?” He’d come back from playing a Shield game and we’d talk specifics about the wicket: “Perth bounces a lot these days, so what you need to do is…”or “The SCG turns big on the last day so the things to remember are…”I absorbed it all and stored it away in my mental encyclopedia.

Emmers also taught me a huge amount about the mental side of the game and about earning the right to play. He spoke a lot about what playing for NSW meant, about the proud tradition encapsulated in the Baggy Blue and what it signified to play for the most successful side in the world at the state/province/county level. I understood. The cap demanded success of those who wore it: they were the best in the game and as a kid coming through the ranks you had to earn the right to be around them.

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