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last year
St George Cricket Club
St George Cricket Club
Sydney, Australia
53 Likes
54 Followers



After many years of much promise with little results to show the St George District Cricket Club enjoyed an uncanny period of success in its numerous “PG’s” Under 21 competition campaigns between seasons 03/04 to 07/08. The club took out an unprecedented 4 premierships in these 5 seasons whilst placing 4th in the middle season of 2005-06. Keeping in mind the NSW Premier Cricket Competition consists of 20 clubs. Premierships are tough to come by.

Let’s take a little trip back and look at some of the teams, the players and their campaigns.

Premiership 1 – 2003/04

https://www.cricconnect.com/profile/275/st-george-cricket-club/blog/1513/st-george-district-cricket-club-poidevin-gray-golden-run-2003-to-2008-ndash-premiership-1
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last year
The Random Cricket Photos Guy Guy
The Random Cricket Photos Guy Guy
Mumbai, India
3 Likes
0 Followers



Chasing 203, Yorkshire were down in the dumps with the score at the end of 46 overs reading 9/123. A further 80 runs were required to win from the remaining 54 balls (it was a 55 over match). Nobody had scored more than Boycott's 31 in Yorkshire's innings when no. 11 Mark Johnson joined their wicketkeeper for the last wicket.

The following overs saw 9 sixes being hit, all from the bat of that diminutive wicketkeeper batsman who took particular liking for the slow left arm spin of David Steele and hit him 26 in an over.

Not only did he manage to eke out a 1 wicket win for Yorkshire with a 80 run partnership where Johnson's contribution was a mere 4 runs, he also ended with an unbeaten hundred against his name. In a result that not many had seen coming an hour ago, the match was over with 8 balls to spare.

https://www.cricconnect.com/profile/447/the-random-cricket-photos-guy-guy/blog/478/david-bairstow-yorkshire-v-derbyshire-benson-and-hedges-cup-match-in-1982
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last year
Lindfield District Cricket Club
Lindfield District Cricket Club
Lindfield, Australia
4 Likes
4 Followers



10 runs to get, 6 balls to do it. I’m on strike as the rain whips into my face, through the metal grill of my helmet making it slightly difficult to see the ball. Its dark, wet, and 13 players and 2 umpires tough it out for one more over. But for me, I’ve had one of the greatest moments on the cricket field already. I opened the batting with my old man. We walked out together with the task set in front of us, ready to take on the world. While we enjoyed a solid 50-run partnership, I also had the extra privilege of seeing him get out before me. The result of the game didn’t matter to me because I was the happiest a cricketer ever could be. No century or five wicket haul could ever compete with the feeling of playing cricket with the person who introduced you to the game twenty odd years ago.

As a young cricketer, I grew up under the coaching of my dad who threw the ball to me while I tried to play my best Ricky Ponting hook shot, or my sharpest Michael Clarke cover drive

https://www.cricconnect.com/profile/809/lindfield-district-cricket-club/blog/1511/out-caught-mccallum-bowled-mccallum
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last year
Manly Warringah District Cricket Club
Manly Warringah District Cricket Club
Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
33 Likes
20 Followers



Our latest Howzat Building Waratahs in History Q&A we speak with Sam Mesite, a club member for over 50 years and still contributing as a member of our coaching staff. Sammy has performed almost every role across the club during his time and has a unique and long term perspective on both the club and Premier Cricket as a whole.

Sammy is one if the great men of our club and you won’t find to many bad words said about him. On the field he was a staunch opening batsmen who never gave his wicket away easily, and off the field he lives his life in a similar way.

We sat down with Sammy for a chat through his time at Manly.

https://manlycricket.com/waratahs-in-history-sam-mesite
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last year
Paul Ryan
Paul Ryan
Founder
Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
503 Likes
513 Followers



At the end of May 2023 Mac Jenkins embarked on a journey to India to deliver cricket programs to young kids.

For 10 days Mac helped, guided, and supported the young children and found himself learning so much more.

Tell us about your recent trip to India?

I travelled to India, specifically Delhi and Ghaziabad to deliver cricket programs and activities to underprivileged children in the Delhi NCR region.

During my time there I set up base and ran clinics at the Seva Group Foundation, which is an NGO (Non-Government Organisation) that works for children who are orphaned, abandoned, or whose families are unable to care for them.

https://www.cricconnect.com/profile/32/paul-ryan/blog/1510/mac-jenkins-inspiring-journey-to-india
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last year
Jim Dixon
Jim Dixon
Canberra, ACT, Australia
2 Likes
1 Followers



My best grade team - Jim Dixon 1979 to 2007

I have been charged with the almost impossible task of naming the best XI (in my opinion) that I have played with at UNSW Cricket Club .

To provide some relevant context I started my career during a golden era of cricket at UNSW.

However, the middle to later part of my career saw the 1st Grade side drop to the middle-bottom part of the competition ladder. That demise can be explained by many factors….unfortunately the fact that I became more “in-charge” as we performed more poorly may be a none-too-complimentary reflection of my leadership skills. In any event I have made that observation as the team I have selected has, accordingly, been dominated by players from the earlier part of my 1st grade career when we were undoubtedly stronger.

I was also grappling with whether or not I should include our Test Representatives given that their inclusion would seem to be a “no-brainer” anyway. I have decided to include them…mainly as it seemed to give me an easier task in selecting a more balanced team.

https://www.cricconnect.com/profile/537/jim-dixon/blog/1506/my-best-grade-team-jim-dixon-1979-to-2007
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last year
Barry Everingham
Barry Everingham
Teacher
Forster, NSW, Australia
16 Likes
13 Followers



A game of backyard cricket is truly a Peter Pan moment for many of my generation. It’s where many millions of boys and girls first found their love of the game and it’s a memory that never fades. Backyard cricket matters.

It doesn’t matter if your backyard was in the suburbs of Sydney, London or Cape Town, the bush towns of Australia, the beaches of the Caribbean or the grass less school yards of India. It has and should always be lauded as where one’s love odour game can really begin.

Jasprit Bumrah is arguably one of the top five bowlers in the world and his action is that of a backyard cricketer or, as reported, a young kid growing up without the trappings of a pathway and bowling in the burbs of India between two buildings a metre apart.

I’m no different and at this time of year, I’d be guessing many cricket tragics would either be rolling their arm over in the backyard or at least recalling days of yore, when they could.

https://www.cricconnect.com/profile/75/barry-everingham/blog/1503/backyard-cricket-at-mims-my-peter-pan-moment
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last year
Bankstown District Cricket Club
Bankstown District Cricket Club
Sydney, Australia
10 Likes
30 Followers



Kevin Roberts joined Bankstown District Cricket Club at the age of 21 for the 1993/94 season after spending his junior and early grade career at Gordon District Cricket Club.

It was a brave decision for Kevin to join Bankstown as he'd been at the club since he was 6 years of age and had been on the club committee in the two years before joining the Bulldogs. He also was a valuable member of Gordon DCC 1989/90 and1990/91 first grade premiership winning teams.

His impact with the Bulldogs was immediate as he smashed the clubs first grade batting record scoring 1,160 runs for the season and Bankstown won the first grade premiership. Kevin was the captain of the 1999-2000 Bankstown first grade premiership wining team.

Kevin Roberts played 23 first class games for NSW scoring 1,088 at an average of 27.89 including one century and 8 half centuries

https://www.cricconnect.com/profile/356/bankstown-district-cricket-club/blog/225/kevin-roberts-always-remember-the-cleaners-name
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last year
Paul Ryan
Paul Ryan
Founder
Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
503 Likes
513 Followers



Pencil had been scoring for Wests Firsts since he was 13. It was customary at Western Suburbs to be awarded your First Grade cap after you’d played 3 first grade games for the club. Pencil, was more than a scorer, and quite rightly wore his first grade cap No. 447 with a great deal of pride.

On many occasions as the captain indicated we were batting, I’d pack up my keeping gloves and head up to the scorer’s box and sit with Pencil. I'd watch him prepare for the day ahead. It was a work of art, everything in order and 447 sitting on top..

In what I remember to be my 2nd or 3rd game in Firsts, we’d been in the field for an hour or so, when I experienced a “what the f…..” moment as I noticed Pencil walking around the ground with no pen or paper - he was strolling, free as a bird.

For those who don’t know Pratten Park, the scorer’s box is about mid-wicket and some 15 metres from the boundary. It’d be a good 6 – 7-minute walk... about two overs.

I made a gesture to first slip..... “he never misses a thing” was the reply.. He was that good.

https://www.cricconnect.com/profile/32/paul-ryan/blog/126/pencil-the-sharpest-one-of-the-gang
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last year
Joe Maiorana
Joe Maiorana
Sydney, Australia
40 Likes
2 Followers



Mike Veletta ➖ Australia v England, World Cup Final, Kolkata, 1987

It’s often the fate of the cameo specialist that he gets forgotten, as Mike Veletta’s trophy-clinching walk-on part in the 1987 final shows. The stories of David Boon’s 75, Steve Waugh’s second-last over, Mike Gatting’s infamous reverse-sweep are the stuff of legend, but it was Veletta’s impudent yet largely overlooked 45 not out from 31 balls in the closing overs which made Australia’s seven-run victory possible. Waugh described it later as “a gem of a cameo”, but aside from that byline the innings has sunk without trace. Veletta says he is happy with his place, but his role in elevating an unfancied Aussie side to their maiden world title should not be underestimated.

(Vintage Cricket)

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last year
Warnervale Wildcats
Warnervale Wildcats
Central Coast, NSW, Australia
2 Likes
0 Followers



Chris Killen played first class cricket for NSW and South Australia.

Growing up in the western regions of NSW Chris Killen caught the eye of the NSW Cricket Captain Dirk Wellham at the age of 17 and was promptly invited to join Wellham at his club in Sydney, Western suburbs.

Chris made his first grade debut for Western Suburbs against Petersham in September 1986 taking 2 for 31 in Petersham first innings and 2 for 29 in the 2nd innings. Chris is Western Suburbs first grade player number 517.

A strong robust fast Chris quickly earned a reputation for being one of the fastest bowlers in Australia.

https://www.cricconnect.com/profile/947/warnervale-wildcats/blog/956/chris-killen-no-fear
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last year
The Random Cricket Photos Guy Guy
The Random Cricket Photos Guy Guy
Mumbai, India
3 Likes
0 Followers



Since a talented Shubman Gill’s bat sans a sponsor sticker has got everyone wondering, it reminded me of one of the most famous pictures from the game in the 21st century where the subject is curiously without a bat sponsor. Here is the story behind it.

In 2001, Steve Waugh was entering his 16th year of international cricket at the age of 36. In 2001, his bat sponsorship deal with bat manufacturers Gunn and Moore also came to an end. Their Australian bat-making operation wasn’t making enough money and they just didn’t have the money to pay him. In the background, there was also a tussle going on between ICC and the cricketers as ICC at that point only allowed batsmen to use logos of bat manufacturers. Bat manufacturers didn’t have the kind of money to shell out for sponsorships that other players like MRF or Reebok had.

At this point, if you’re wondering that how did MRF manage to find space on Sachin Tendulkar’s bat, well, that’s because they were clever, like many Indian companies before them. MRF or Madras Rubber Factory is a tyre manufacturing company but to circumvent the ICC rules and be on the bat of the most popular cricketer, they just brought a bat factory!

https://www.cricconnect.com/profile/447/the-random-cricket-photos-guy-guy/blog/477/random-cricket-photos-steve-waughs-bat-stickerless
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last year
Peter Langston
Peter Langston
Tamworth, New South Wales, Australia
36 Likes
4 Followers



Back in the day when I ran my own website - thecricketragics - this following post attracted many thousands of hits, a revelation for an unknown writer trying to make his way. Its probably one of my favourite pieces, partially because I made a good fist of it and probably because it goes to the source of my adult style as a writer. Sports or otherwise, Peter Roebuck was my absolute idol as a writer. I have read many others who have influenced me such as Richard Flanaghan, Douglas Adams, Peter Fitzsimons, John le Carre, William McInnes, Les Murray, Sylvia Plath, CJ Dennis, Clive James - yes I know. A regular Christmas stocking of style and form and genre and sadly lacking, I realise too late, in gender equity.

Roebuck had something else. Intellect perhaps. Integrity, certainly. Courage, without doubt. I just loved the way he constructed a sentence and never treated me, as a reader, like an idiot. He expected me to do some work.

https://www.cricconnect.com/profile/194/peter-langston/blog/1499/peter-amp-me
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