Michael Chee Quee
Randwick Petersham Cricket Club | May 06, 2023
It was an anxious wait for the 14 year old outside the family home in Kingsford as the Randwick official drove up to collect him for his first Sydney Grade Cricket match. With two rounds to go of the 1982-83 season, young Michael Chee Quee had been invited to join Randwick’s 5th Grade side. The official was club stalwart, Phil Tresidder, who handed Michael a borrowed pair of spiked cricket boots and the pair were off to Snape Park. Although he made only a handful of runs that day, it prompted skipper Gordon Owen to comment in his annual report that “in 14 year old right-hand batsman Michael Chee Quee, who played the last couple of games, I see a star of the future”. Prophetic words as that was the beginning of the much celebrated Chee Quee family association with Randwick Cricket and later Randwick Petersham, which continues to the present day.
Michael Chee Quee, the eldest son and second child of William and Elizabeth Chee Quee, was born at Camperdown on 22 March 1968. His father was of Chinese heritage and served in the Australian Airforce after being born and raised on Thursday Island. Mother Elizabeth, was the product of a Samoan mother and Chinese father, who grew up in Suva, Fiji. The pair met and married in Sydney before setting up in business at a fish and chip shop in Kensington, opposite the Doncaster Hotel. It was a popular take-away with father, mother, grandparents and aunties, all taking their turn to serve in the shop.
The Chee Quee family also lived on the premises. By then, eldest daughter Susan and Michael, had been joined by younger brother Richard. However, disaster struck in 1977 when a furniture store three doors down, was intentionally blown up in the early hours of the morning. That store and the two premises in between, were reduced to rubble with the fish and chip shop still standing but badly damaged. And while the explosion was the outcome of an “insurance job”, the Chee Quee’s had no such cover and the business was lost. While the family was unhurt, father William suffered a series of heart attacks through the stress of it all and two years later, at just 54 years of age, he died. Elizabeth was left to raise the three children then aged 13, 11 and eight.
The Chee Quee family in 1987: Richard, Elizabeth, Susan and Michael
The family moved to a house in Kingsford and through the undying struggles of Elizabeth, who took on cleaning jobs, working in food outlets and fish shops, the children were provided with a proper education. Susan completed her schooling at Sydney Girls High while the two boys attended Marcellin College at Randwick. The boys were keen on sport, playing cricket in the summer and soccer in the winter. Their prowess in competitive sport appeared to stem from their father who was a particularly good tennis player. Interestingly, it is only in recent times that the family discovered William was quite a competent all-round cricketer when at school, as depicted by his picture in a team photo at Downlands College, Toowoomba, where he attended through a scholarship.
Prior to his Grade debut in 1982-83, young Michael had performed well in Randwick’s A W Green Shield team, hitting the side’s highest score of 68 in his overall total of 116. He had already experienced competitive cricket, having represented Combined Catholic Colleges in inter-school programs. The following season, he was still eligible for Green Shield and was installed as captain. On the Grade scene, he began the season in 5ths, but after an impressive 56 was promoted to 4th Grade.
Michael Chee Quee - front row and vice captain
In 1985-86, Michael played a major part in the 5th Grade premiership win with a match-winning 60 in the semi-final. The following season, his 408 runs headed the batting in 2nd Grade while he also took on the vacant wicket-keeping role, showing plenty of aptitude with 21 dismissals. His progress was such that he was runner-up to Greg Doyle in the coveted Player of the Season competition. Selectors were impressed and in the final match of the season, he made his 1st Grade debut, scoring nine runs at no. 8 against Penrith at Coogee. In one season he had advanced from 5th to 1st Grade. And to add to what was an outstanding summer of achievement for the 18 year old, he was joined in 2nd Grade half-way through the season, by 16 year old brother, Richard.
Season 1987-88 saw Michael score the first of four centuries he would make in 2nd Grade. Playing Sutherland at what is now Glenn McGrath Oval, he scored 103* in a total of 5-329. He and John Ramsey put on 157 for the fifth wicket. The following summer he again finished the top bat in 2s with 423 runs, a performance he repeated the next season with his best tally–489.
Included in that figure was what turned out to be a career-best score of 143 against Hawkesbury. Once again, Chee Quee and Ramsey combined, this time putting on 205 for the fourth wicket. The outright win took Randwick to the top of the Club Championship. He also played a handful of matches in 1st Grade late in the season, top-scoring with an impressive 40 in the second innings against North Sydney.
In 1989-90, he began the season in 2s but was quickly elevated to 1st Grade where he became a fixture for that and the following three seasons. And while he didn’t make three figures, there were a number of innings which were worthy of a hundred, namely his 82 on a difficult wicket at Pratten Park in 1990-91 and his 86 in 223 minutes with nine fours against Waverley the next season. That innings was described in the Sydney Morning Herald O’Reilly Medal Awards as “a masterful display of classical shot selection”. The Chee Quee family influence in Randwick Cricket was emphasised at the end of that 1992-93 season, with Michael totalling 3,480 career runs and Richard an almost identical 3,482.
A loss of form saw Michael start the 1993-94 season in 2nd Grade. That was the trigger for some spectacular batting, with the 25 year old reeling off successive undefeated centuries against Manly and Parramatta. Against the Eels at Coogee, Chee Quee and David Barclay, put on 197* for the second wicket. Averaging 74.16 in six completed innings, Michael was restored to 1st Grade.
In his first match back, he top-scored with 54 against Balmain and the following round looked likely to bring up his maiden 1st Grade century when he was unluckily stumped for 93. But the feature of his season occurred in the Grand Final of the Resch’s Limited Overs competition when he top-scored with 50*, to enable the side to sneak past North Sydney’s 139 seven down and take the premiership. Chee Quee was named Man of the Match.
Michael carried that form into 1994-95, hitting 69 before being run out in the first game of the season against Sutherland after he and Craig Wiseman put on 161 in 149 minutes for the fifth wicket. However, four matches later, after heading the line-up with 30 in a low scoring match against Wests at Coogee, Michael’s season came to an abrupt end with the news that in a career move, he had taken a job as a croupier at the Diamond Beach Casino in Darwin.
A year later, Michael was back for the opening of the Sydney Harbour Casino after taking a position as a dealer/supervisor. And while it appeared he may be able to resume his playing career with Randwick, the working hours in his new job did not provide such an opportunity. Although he managed to fill-in from time to time in lower grades, at 28, his 1st Grade playing career was over. Not so his working career, as after 25 years, Michael remains with the Sydney Casino in a senior role.
Michael Chee Quee was a delight to watch as a cricketer. He was one of the most elegant and fluent stroke-makers to play with Randwick, reminiscent of the brilliant stylists of the time, David Gower and Greg Chappell. He had little coaching and relied on advice he received early in his career from the Randwick icon, Alan Cripps, who suggested he always play in the “V”. He also received words of encouragement from Australian captain, Ian Chappell, who Michael got to speak with at the SCG nets as a 16 year old, courtesy of a meeting arranged by his first-match car driver, Phil Tresidder. It remains one of the fondest (and most overwhelming) moments in his cricket life.
Michael Chee Quee played with Randwick for 13 seasons with a small number of appearances thereafter. He played in every grade and competition in which Randwick participated, scoring 5,463 runs. He tallied 1,624 runs in 1st Grade, averaging 28.49 from 79 innings with 22 of them undefeated. His performance in 2nd Grade was however, more impressive, scoring 2,038 at 37.74 with four centuries. He completed 69 dismissals as a wicket-keeper, while in the field he held 72 catches. In 1991-92 and 1992-93, he was the leading 1st Grade fielder with 10 and 13 catches respectively. The first of his 1st Grade catches occurred in his debut game when a flat-bat pull shot off a David Knox bouncer was caught by Michael on the deep backward square leg boundary after leaping high in the air. A wonderful memory for Michael, as are the memories of his batting for all those fortunate to have seen him play.
Michael is also part of an unusual historic occasion for Randwick. Playing against St George in 1991-92 alongside brother Richard, the pair were joined by brothers Rodney and Gregory Davison and the Quint brothers, Justin and Darren. Grade Cricket historians and long term followers could not recall a time when there were three pairs of brothers in the same 1st Grade team!
Richard Chee Quee, Greg Davison, Michael Chee Quee, Rod Davison, Darren Quint, Justin Quint
