Graeme Cunningham
Randwick Petersham Cricket Club | September 15, 2023
Graeme Cunningham had the thrill and rare distinction of making a hundred on his 1st Grade debut. It was round 8 of the 1993-94 season when the 18 year old right-hander was called into the Petersham- Marrickville side for the clash with North Sydney at Petersham Oval. He had won his opportunity with some excellent lead-up performances in 2s where he had already brought up a sensational 103 against Sydney University as part of his 294 runs in just six matches.
Batting first, a solid start had been made but the side appeared to be losing its way at the loss of the fifth wicket with just on 150 on the board. Sent in at no. 7, the youngster joined John Affleck but rather than be guided by the cagy veteran, he opted for his normal attacking game hitting the bowlers to all parts of the field as he racked up a brilliant 109* in a final score of 7-346. In just over two hours he had belted nine boundaries and three massive sixes in an innings which brought raptures from good judges. The country boy was well and truly part of the big smoke.
Graeme Timothy Cunningham was born on 25 January 1973 in Goulburn, NSW, where he was raised. In 1990-91 he ventured to Sydney for a Green Shield season with Petersham-Marrickville performing well with 160 runs and five wickets with his off-spinners. He made a mark as a nimble fielder as well, snaring nine catches.
He wasn’t seen again until two years later when he arrived at Petersham Oval during the second-half of the 1992-93 season, playing just three games. A 94 against Waverley in 5th Grade and a 67 in his only match in 4s gave selectors plenty to look forward to the following season where he started in 2nd Grade before his promotion to 1sts. Completing the season in the top grade, he ended the summer with an impressive tally of 774 in 20 games across 1s, 2s and the under 21 Poidevin-Gray competition where he scored 234 including a sparkling 88 against Wests. He won both 1st and 2nd Grade batting averages that season with figures of 61.25 and 49.00 respectively. NSW selectors were similarly impressed with his speedy progress and he was named in the State under 19s team to play in the national competition that season.
Season 1994-95 saw Cunningham, or “Ritchie” as he was affectionately known after the character in the Happy Days TV show, quickly develop into one of the best run-getters in Sydney Grade Cricket. He had a huge season in 1st Grade amassing 783 runs– one run behind Graeme Hughes’ 1983-84 club record of 784. These days he would have the record as LO figures are included giving him 818. He also scored 126 in PGs for a season tally of 944.
He began with scores of 57, 59, 39 and 43 in the first four rounds before really hitting his straps in round 5 with another boundary- laced hundred. This time St George was on the receiving end of a spectacular 130 at Petersham Oval with the young dasher smashing 17 fours and four sixes in a total of 311 to win by 102 runs. He also turned it on in a losing match against Manly next game hitting 61 in only 39 minutes–52 in boundaries with 10 fours and two sixes.
The season’s fireworks were far from over however, with Cunningham again showing his liking for the Petersham Oval boundary fence by hitting seven sixes and six fours in a power-packed 133 against University of NSW. He also showed he had a preference for the University of NSW bowlers by taking another century off them in the same round (no. 10) the following season. On that occasion he scored 107 in 158 minutes with 11 fours and a six. He again topped the batting with 534. He also hit 198 in PGs.
That season and the next Graeme Cunningham was part of the NSW Colts team. He made his representative debut against Newcastle Colts in February 1995. And while he was out for a duck in the first innings he showed his style in the second with 78 off 86 balls with 10 fours and a six. In November that year he again lined up against Newcastle Colts and slammed a huge 162 off just 155 balls with 24 fours and a six. A few days later he made 91 off 117 balls with 14 fours and a six against Queensland at the ‘Gabba. NSW Country Colts came in for a similar pasting two months later when he faced 83 balls hitting 13 fours and four sixes— 76 in boundaries in a score of 82*. He played for NSW Colts 10 times scoring a total of 603 runs.
Season 1996-97 was a relatively “quiet” one for aggressive youngster although by summer’s end he had accumulated 490 runs including 122 in the Limited Overs competition. Three half-centuries with a best of 86 playing Mosman were the highlights. But he was back in business the following season hitting a career-best 164 against Randwick at Petersham. He batted for 291 minutes and hit 25 fours and four sixes. He completed the season the 1st Grade leading batsman with 616.
The frustration in not being able to break into the NSW first-class team brought about a re-think and in 1998-99 he relocated to Canberra winning a place in the Canberra Comets LO team playing in the Mercantile Mutual Cup. Ironically in his first match he scored 76 off 66 balls against NSW. When ACT failed to enter a team in the Interstate LO competition in 2001 he moved to Tasmania. Over the following two seasons he played two first-class and 35 LO matches for Tasmania with 77 his best score.
During his six seasons with Petersham-Marrickville, Graeme “Ritchie” Cunningham scored 3,167 Grade Cricket runs with 2,707 in 1st Grade. Five of his six centuries were in the top grade. With his age competition matches his club runs total 3,899
