ON THIS DAY - 21st March
Armidale Waratahs (The Tahs) | March 21, 2024
More finals action on this day in Waratahs history.
In 1953, A grade's late season surge continued, beating Easts-I in the semi-final. One of two Easts sides in the competition, they had dominated the season as minor premiers. Waratahs, who only just snuck into 4th spot when DON PAUL (#l37) bowled Uralla out two runs short, were again best served by ROSS RIDLEY (#8) and Paul in the middle order, with a grade record partnership of 126 for the 5th wicket. Batting one short, 263 was a formidable total and then their bowlers never let Easts get away.
Waratahs v Easts-I (Semi) - A grade, 14th & 21st March 1953
In 1970, both Waratahs teams won their semi-finals. A grade were set on their way against St Peters by Bill Thompson and Alan Gray but once Graham Johnson left, a middle order collapse spread to the tail and but for some Tom Cooke hitting, Waratahs might not have made 150. St Peters struggled after losing 5 early wickets to Cooke and Brian Joice and did well to get as close as they did.
Waratahs v St Peters (Semi) - A grade, 14th & 21st March 1970
A-Res won convincingly against Teachers College, with BRENDON McGEE (#200) carrying on from the century he made against the same opposition in the previous match, making 96.
A-Res v Teachers (Semi) - 14th & 21st March 1970
Teachers 131 (J Douglass 51. John Russell 3-51) and 7-113 (J McCann 3-33); Waratahs 246 (Brendan McGee 96, Keith McIntyre 65, R Frith 22)
1982, was a bumper year for Waratahs with all four teams in the semis. 1sts, looking to avenge their Final loss the previous year, were no match for Easts batting depth, who had the luxury of batting Paul Marquardt at #8. Brian Mair and Roger Sattler were the only two in the top six to fire, with Sattler's run out probably being the turning point of the innings and youngster Peter Snell made a half century top score batting at #7.
Waratahs v Easts (Semi) - 1st grade, 20th & 21st March 1982
Easts won a close one in 2nd grade after their strong batting line up was held below 200. Waratahs chased well, led well by a steady Andrew Davis in partnership with skipper Tony Bennett in the middle order and lots of contributions. In the end, too many batsmen made starts and then got out. Dougie Owen's two catches and three late wickets for Easts just got them home.
Waratahs v Easts (Semi) - 2nd grade, 20th & 21st March 1982
3rd grade, the all conquering minor premiers, marched on with staggered steps in this nail-biter against Churches. No side scored 100 runs in the four innings in a match that was won by a last wicket partnership. JACK TRESTRAIL (#303) 9-77 and BRIAN JOICE (#218) 10-75 bowled Churches out twice with the new ball, with no other bowlers needed and then, after conceding a first lead and potentially the match despite a near lone hand from Bob Barwick, Waratahs found themselves 6-35 needing 89. It was Trestrail, man of the match, who prevailed, sharing a match winning partnership with John Roberts and scoring the winnings runs with Harry Deiderick at the other end.
Waratahs v Churches (Semi) - 3rd grade, 20th & 21st March 1982
4th grade stormed into the Final, enforcing the follow on and beating Churches by an innings. Solid batting from Jams Campbell, Kelleher, Quaife and Williamson gave them a reasonable total but John Williamson and Gareth Pickering bowled them to victory, blasting out Churches in both innings. Wicketkeeper JASON KELLEHER (#415) held 7 catches for the match, a record across all grades for Waratahs.
Waratahs v Churches (Semi) - 4th grade, 20th & 21st March 1982
In 1993, 4th grade, unbeaten in five matches in the second half of the season, accounted for Wollomombi in the preliminary final, with Martin Lawrence and Tim Hadfield rolling the Mountain Men for just 105. For Lawrence, it was second five wicket haul of the finals series.
Waratahs v Wollomombi (Preliminary Final) - 4th grade, 20th & 21st March 1993 (scoresheet not available)
Waratahs 234; Wollomombi 105 (Martin Lawrence 5-38, Tim Hadfield 5-50)
