Vale Rhys Banwell
Randwick Petersham Cricket Club | September 13, 2024
It is my very sad duty to report the passing of Life Member, Rhys Banwell, at Coffs Harbour on Friday 13 September. Rhys had battled cancer over the past few years. He turned 65 only last Tuesday.
Rhys was a brilliant if not enigmatic cricketer. He played A W Green Shield for Randwick when he was aged 12, 13, 14 and 15. However, he didn’t make his Grade Cricket debut until he was 19, Despite his late arrival, he played a leading hand in Randwick winning the 4th Grade premiership that season after belting 83* in the dark, batting at no. 8 in the semi-final. He had another premiership the following season in 3rd Grade.
After a few fill-in matches, Rhys played his first full season in 1st Grade in 1985-86, scoring 420 runs after he belted 173 against Manly in 2nd Grade the season before. An aggressive left-hand bat who had progressed to opener, he could change the course of a game in no time flat.
A highlight of his career occurred in 1982-83 when he had a season with St Anne’s in the UK Northern League. Rhys opened the batting with the club professional, West Indian champion, Rohan Kanhai. They had three century partnerships with one of 229, a new record.
Banwell played until he was 42, captaining the first Randwick Petersham 2nd Grade team having led the last Randwick 2nd Grade team to the Grand Final the previous summer. He scored 2,181 runs in 1st Grade and 3,243 in 2nds. He hit nine centuries in all. With his Green Shield and PGs performances, his career figures extend to 7,984 runs, 275 wickets and 95 catches. His wickets were achieved from a mixture of left-arm medium-pace, off-spin and leg spin.
Apart from the years he spent on the field, Rhys spent many seasons as a member of Randwick’s social committee assisting the club in its off-field activities. In recognition of his dedication and commitment to the club as well as his outstanding contribution as a player, Rhys was made a Life Member of Randwick Petersham in 2007.
Rhys Banwell and his father Stan, who played between 1954 and 1976 scoring 6,390 runs while taking 444 wickets, formed the greatest father-son combination in Randwick’s history.
RIP Rhys Banwell.
Lyall Gardner OAM
