John Affleck - Randwick Petersham Cricket Club - Heroes of the Ages
Randwick Petersham Cricket Club | June 08, 2024
John Affleck was an experienced Sydney Grade cricketer when he joined Petersham-Marrickville in 1989-90 at 33.
A left-hand bat had played 11 seasons with Parramatta and scored over 3,250 1st Grade runs, he was a welcome addition at a time when the side had finished last the previous season and two of its top-class players, David Chardon and Peter Taylor had retired.
In 1990-91 Affleck topped the batting in 2nds with 226 at the impressive average of 56.5. His best score of 88 led to an easy win over Northern District with a 50* producing a similar result against Campbelltown at Campbelltown. But while opportunities in 1st Grade were limited, he continued to provide the “glue” in a number of tight batting situations. In 1991-92 skipper Greg Hartshorne said of John that “He is in my team because he has guts and determination”.
John played the full 1992-93 season in 1st Grade. The team did well finishing sixth and were highly competitive throughout the 13 rounds of the competition. His top score of 73 against Bankstown was almost half the team total of 185 although it didn’t lead to any win points as the second day’s play was washed out. He showed plenty of agility in the field that season snaring nine catches.
Randwick Petersham Heroes of the Ages proudly sponsored by Suttons City
Season 1993-94 was John Affleck’s best with Petersham-Marrickville. While he may have been classed in the veteran stage at age 37, it didn’t affect his ability to score runs. In round 4 playing Northern District at Waitara Oval (now Mark Taylor Oval), he scored his first century for the club, hitting 106.
Promoted to 1sts he repeated the effort the next game with 100* in the second innings against Campbelltown at Petersham Oval–only his second 1st Grade ton. He also scored 71 in a good win over North Sydney and 72 playing Penrith at Howell Oval. With 426 runs in 1st Grade and 133 in 2s, his season tally of 559 was a reward-for-effort outcome.
With Petersham-Marrickville, John Affleck played nine seasons scoring 3,000 runs with 1,817 in 1st Grade and 1,183 in 2s. He hit 11 half-centuries and three centuries–two in 1st Grade. His 116 in 1994-95 was his best score, not just for Petes, but in his career where he scored 5,293 runs in 236 1st Grade matches. A feature of his Petes career was that in 97 1st Grade innings, he remained not out 19 times.
