A Great Place to Play: A Western Suburbs District Cricket Club Tale
Western Suburbs District Cricket Club Sydney | October 16, 2024
The following article is an extract from our 2006 publication “Cricket in Black and White: 110 Not Out: The history of the Western Suburbs District Cricket Club”.
As soon as the 2000-01 season opened, it was obvious that Western Suburbs' young team had developed beyond promising into a genuine contender for the premiership. Michael Clarke began the season with a brilliant 108 against Mosman, leading his side to a comfortable victory. Andrew Sargeant compiled a nerveless half-century to seal victory over Bankstown in the next match, and in the third round, against Fairfield, new captain Michael Swan (68) and Clarke (86) were outstanding in another winning side.
The team's momentum appeared to be arrested the following week, when Sutherland racked up a total of 382. But Western Suburbs was playing with rich confidence and refused to concede defeat. Peter Burkhart stroked an elegant 128, Nathan Austin carved and clattered his way to 79, and with one delivery remaining in the match, the score stood at 9-381. A scrambled single drew the scores level and, although the match was drawn, the performance was a tremendous boost to the team's morale.
Pictured above: Current Club President Michael Swan
So many young players asserted themselves as front-line First Graders. Michael Clarke cracked 770 runs at an average of almost sixty, punching out three centuries and four half-centuries. Colin Barry and Nathan Austin (who took a hat trick against Petersham) were always threatening with the ball. Adrian McCaffrey batted consistently and was so reliable with the gloves that he set a new record for the Club, holding 43 catches, many of them from Dan Horsley's inspiringly hostile bowling.
The Club had developed a depth of talent, too. Geoff Bower's Second Grade side was competitive all season and provided highly capable players like Michael R Clarke, David Clarke and Chris Taylor to reinforce First Grade when the need arose. Ten victories in 17 matches earned Wests a place in the qualifying final. On a flat Drummoyne pitch, Wests batted boldly on the first day, Michael R Clarke leading the charge with a fine 89. Peter Burkhart marked his second appearance in a First Grade finals match with a second century, a classy 116 against an attack that included former Test bowlers Simon Cook and Gavin Robertson. Michael Swan, who led the side with aggression and flair declared at 3-298 and although Michael J Clarke made early inroads into Balmain's innings, representative batsman Greg Mail hit 101 to steer his team to victory.
In the five seasons since 2000-01, Western Suburbs has not managed to regain a place in the First Grade finals. Usually the side's batting has been strong; the Pratten Park pitch was re-laid in 2001 and it no longer holds any terrors for the batsmen. Peter Burkhart has been a reliable source of attractive runs, and Steve Phillips' exciting talent was loudly confirmed by his brutal double- hundred against Campbelltown in 2001-02. Daniel Smith joined Wests when Petersham-Marrickville merged with Randwick, and has combined dominant batting with wicket-keeping sharp enough to earn him several games for New South Wales. There have been important contributions from Gavan Twining and Adrian McCaffrey, and the gifted Michael Bright marked his initial season with the club by hitting 754 runs in 2004-05.
Chemist Warehouse Ashfield is a proud sponsor of Western Suburbs District Cricket Club
Unhappily, however, the arrival of a placid pitch at Pratten Park coincided with a decline in Wests' bowling strength. The exceptional Horsley, whose immense efforts for Wests were rewarded only by a single New South Wales cap, moved to Victoria in search of better opportunities, and his departure was a serious blow to the Club. Left-armer Daniel McLauchlan, a richly talented bowler, was an effective spearhead in 2002-03, but in the following season only the reliable Colin Barry took as many as twenty wickets in First Grade's 18 matches. In the second match of 2003-04 hit a massive 5-467 against Eastern Suburbs, but lost the game; incredibly, Easts exposed the limitations of Wests' bowling by cruising to victory with time to spare. In 2004-05, tall fast bowler Aaron Scott led the attack with 21 wickets - the lowest tally returned by the Club's leading wicket-taker since 1901. Although six Wests batsmen shared four centuries and 16 half-centuries between them during the season, Scott (once) was the only bowler who managed to claim five wickets in an innings.
Inevitably, the highlights of the season were the work of batsmen. Peter Burkhart crafted a magnificent 144 against Mosman, during which he not only passed Tom Brown as the Club's leading run-scorer but also passed 9000 runs in all grades. By the end of 2005-06, Burkhart had also become the Club's highest First Grade run-scorer, pushing his totals to 8596 runs in Firsts and beyond 10,000 in all grades - an exceptional performance. On a wider stage, Michael Clarke marked his Test debut at Bangalore with a brilliant 151 against India, which was followed with an equally dazzling century in his first Test in Australia, against New Zealand in Brisbane. Clarke's appearances for his club had become increasingly rare because of his representative commitments, but he made a point of turning out for Wests whenever he could, and in 2005-06 he recorded the Club's ninth double-century in First Grade, a superb, unbeaten 205 against Parramatta. Daniel Smith's batting improved markedly, and his impressive tally of 906 runs included no fewer than four centuries. Grant Roden, a fast- medium bowler acquired from Sutherland, worked hard with the ball and earned selection in the New South Wales one-day team, but Wests still struggled to dismiss sides cheaply and although ten wins were recorded, the First Grade team finished twelfth in the competition.
Western Suburbs has, at times, struggled to adapt to some recent, dramatic changes in the nature of Grade cricket. More than ever, it is a batsman's game. Pitches are covered, dry and hard, and runs have become, in recent years, a devalued currency. Twenty years ago, a First Grade batsman might have fifteen innings in a season, half of them on poor pitches. An average of twenty, or a fifty every six or seven innings, would usually guarantee a batsman his place in the team. Now batsmen in successful teams might bat more than twenty times in a First Grade season, and usually in conditions offering no encouragement to the bowlers. Twenty years ago, a solid First Grade batsman might be pleased with 400 runs in a season; today, 800 is closer to par. In recent years, Western Suburbs has struggled to muster a First Grade attack potent enough to cope with these conditions. A further change has affected the lower grades in particular. Grade cricket has become a very time- consuming game, and the competing demands of work and family life have shortened players' careers. Many players in their thirties continue to compete in First Grade, but few now remain in Grade cricket once their time in the top grade ends. It was once common for players to carry on the lower grades (often as captains) for several seasons, and those cricketers added strength and leadership to their clubs. Those long-serving players are now in short supply, and at Western Suburbs this has been reflected in the Club's lower-grade performances over the last decade. That said, players like Shaun Vose, Geoff Laing, Greg Michell and David Woods have all provided great service in the lower grades at various times. Their efforts have contributed a great deal to the development of young players in the Club, but their contributions have been the exception rather than the rule; the core of long- serving players, on which Wests once relied so strongly, has become very small.
After twelve years of stable leadership under Bernie O'Neil's presidency, the Club's executive was disrupted by five changes of President in four seasons. O'Neil was an active, hardworking President who devoted countless hours to the club, as well as providing valuable sponsorship support through his company, Caesar Fabrics. On his retirement in 1998 his son, David O'Neil, succeeded to the chair. The younger O'Neil made the relaying of the Pratten Park pitch his priority and, once that task was complete, he stood down in favour of Steve Stapelfeldt. Stapelfeldt was succeeded in turn by the enthusiastic Chris Louden, who had barely completed a season at the helm of the Club when ill-health compelled him to retire. Club stalwart Mark Russell was then, for a brief period, both the President and Secretary of the Club, becoming the only man to hold both offices simultaneously since Ted Rogers, a century earlier. And then, in 2002, Bernie O'Neil returned as President. O'Neil, Alan Davidson says, has contributed enormously to the Club. He not only gave time, he also funded people to the Club - he brought out Gus Fraser, for example, and he utilised his own funds to improve the Club. At times there were only a few people prepared to do the work, but he thought only of the Club and his support was incredible. He didn't always do things through the committee, which upset a few people, but without his input I have no doubt that the Club wouldn't be the Western Suburbs club any more - there were times when the Club really could have gone out the back door, and he worked overtime to keep it going.
It has become very expensive to operate a Grade cricket club and, at the end of 2001-02, Western Suburbs was financially crippled. Chris Louden had great vision for what the Club could achieve, but his administration lacked financial discipline. The season's ambitious programs had not been subjected to any careful budgeting, and some of the Club's commitments ($23,000 spent on coaching, $22,000 on junior development) far exceeded its ability to pay. Possibly, in the weeks before the 2002-03 season, the Club was insolvent.
Pictured Above: Bernie O'Neil
A few weeks before the 2002-03 season, Bernie O'Neil invited senior members of the Club to a meeting, where a simple question w a s posed: did the members want their club to continue? The meeting unanimously declared its support for Western Suburbs, and O'Neil agreed to resume the Presidency to tackle the crisis.
The new executive approached the situation in the only possible way - by appealing to the Club's major sponsor, Wests Ashfield, for help. Peter Hardgrove, the chairman of Wests Ashfield, and John Edwards, the General Manager, were receptive and supportive, and the cricket club was provided with a $20,000 advance payment on future sponsorships, which enabled it to pay its bills and remain in operation. The Club's financial troubles were not altogether solved - a further heavy operating loss, of $16,000, was sustained in 2003-04 - but the generosity of Wests Ashfield, and the regular grants from Cricket NSW and Cricket Australia, have provided a secure and sustainable financial base for Western Suburbs.
In the last ten years Western Suburbs has faced, and met, the most serious challenges to its right to continue as a Grade cricket club. The fact that it has risen to meet those challenges is due to the resilient, stubborn determination of it’s leaders and to the crucial support of Wests Ashfield, which together ensured the Club's survival.
When, in 2002, Bernie O'Neil returned to the Presidency, he was approached by former Wests player, Michael Clarke's coach and manager, Neil D’Costa, who committed to an initial, three year plan to try to revitalise Wests' playing performances. The following year lan Willis - a second generation Magpie - offered to help the Club with Junior Development. Both D'costa and Willis made significant contributions which produced immediate results. D'costa has been the driving influence on the development of elite level players. The success of Michael Clarke has been followed by the entry of Daniel Smith, Grant Roden and Steve Phillips into NSW representative teams. lan Willis has almost single handedly reinvigorated the Club's Green Shield performance. After almost a decade of underachievement, Wests has reached the Green Shield finals in 2003-04, 2004-05 and 2005-06. The joint efforts of D'costa and Willis have provided Wests with a strong core of exciting new talent, which includes not only Smith, Roden and Phillips but also Matthew Day (a State Under 19 representative), Phillip Huges (Australian Under 17 Merit Side Captain in 2005-06), Simon Watson (NSW Under 19 Development Squad), Mitchell Starc, Shariful Islam, Adam Winder and Ryan Beattie (all of who are in the NSW Under 17 Development Squad).
The efforts of D’Costa and Willis have been supplemented by John Hurley who has aided and assisted Willis and D'costa in improving playing performance. A former Wests player, Hurley has been a great influence on the cricket success of Justin Langer (through a chance meeting in London). His determined approach to coaching has directed, nurtured and developed many Wests players in recent years. His loyalty typifies the bond Wests people seem to feel.
