ON THIS DAY - 29th March
Armidale Waratahs (The Tahs) | March 29, 2024
Massive day in Finals history for Waratahs so we'll deal with it in two parts.
In 1969, good and bad results for the two Waratahs team in competition this season. After a bullish win/loss record of 8-3, unbeaten since Christmas and with three outrights in the last five games, Waratahs entered the semi-finals as minor premiers. Their opponents, Easts, had been the last side to beat them, winning outright despite being rolled for 44 in their first innings. Waratahs had been revolutionised by the addition of brute force in the guise of Brian Joice, who joined the A grade side after tormenting them with Churches. His half season yielded 40 wickets. Waratahs attack were all over Easts like a cheap suite and despite some minor recovery efforts by the tail, they never recovered from 3-17. By stumps, Lawrie had reversed Easts fortunes and after he crippled them at 3-10 and then McCann removed Thompson mid recovery, his late wicket of Betts left Waratahs 5-47. Sheffield stood firm until being last man out but Lawrie finished with eight wickets and another batting crash had done for Waratahs in a big game.
Waratahs v Easts (Semi) - A grade, 22nd & 29th March 1969
A-Res grade continued on their unbeaten season, in a high scoring semi-final. With five matches won outright by an innings, they were unbackable favourites for the premiership. Keith McIntyre and Brendon McGee continued their rich vein of form, adding a 166 opening stand and all of the top six made runs in a huge score. Since January, McIntyre's scores wrote legend into the record, with 38, 67, 101x, 52x, 82 and 90 in successive innings - form he would continue into the Final. Teachers total was greatly enhanced by Wilkin and Preen, who added 191 between them until Holloway and Brennan ran through the rest of the batting.
Waratahs v Teachers (Semi) - A-Res grade, 22nd & 29th March 1969
In 1981, in the last A grade Final (before it was rebadged), Waratahs lost what became known as Frosty's Final, after he valiantly resurrected Waratahs hopes. Easts innings was greatly helped by the breakdown of Mullen, but in a team rich in bowling talent, Davis, Sattler and Mair and the reluctant Connolly, were more than enough for a plucky Easts. The turning point, after Connolly had removed the openers, was the introduction of Sattler. Taking out the dangerous Porter (stumped of Betts' pads), the now rampant Sattler copped the rejection of being denied a caught behind off Warren. It had more wood on it than Nottingham Forest and Warren profited to steer the Easts innings. When Waratahs started the chase, one of their batting mainstays for the season, Connolly, left in the second over and just as Sattler and Langston had a rebuild underway, the allrounder had his nose rubbed in the flip side of a controversial caught behind, clearly missing one from David See but being sent. Frost lost Johnson (run out) and Mair quickly but created partnerships with the next three, a young man playing one of his best innings and in a crisis. Porter and Baillie bowled most of the afternoon and toil finally reaped reward as Frosty's task proved just too much, holing out as Bennett was playing backfoot cover drives from beside the square leg umpire.
Waratahs v Easts (Final) - 28th & 29th March 1981
