Graham Errington
Randwick Petersham Cricket Club | May 08, 2023
In the cricket season of 1973-74, Graham Errington indicated in no uncertain manner that he was a wicket-keeper out of the top drawer, by breaking a club record on debut in Randwick’s 1st Grade team. And to perform that feat and make that debut, he had a meteoric transition from 4th Grade to 1sts–all in a six month period and all before he was 21!
Graham John Errington was born at Sydney on 27 July 1953 and educated at Sydney Boys High where he played cricket in the GPS competition. In 1967-68, he played for Combined Associated Schools (CAS) in the A W Green Shield competition after the NSW Cricket Association had approved the entry of such a team. The couple of games he had in the side whetted his appetite, and the following season he joined the Balmain Green Shield team where he played the season. That led to him making his Grade Cricket debut in Balmain’s 1972-73 4th Grade.
An agile glove-man and right-hand bat, the youngster was encouraged by a Randwick cricketer friend to join the Coogee club the following season. With Randwick’s 1st Grade ‘keeper of the previous season not lining up in 1973-74, selectors were eager to fill the void. Impressed with Errington’s form in pre-season trials, they had no hesitation in naming him in the 1st Grade side for the first round. The 20 year old had gone from 4th Grade wicket-keeper to 1st Grade in one season. And as later years proved, it was an outstanding decision, as Graham became one of the best-performed members of the team while creating a reputation in Sydney cricket circles as a most reliable custodian and determined batsman.
In a sensational 1st Grade debut season, Errington broke the club wicket-keeping record with 37 dismissals–33 caught and four stumped. Barry Wood with 30 had set the previous mark six years earlier in 1967-68. And while he didn’t open his dismissals account in his first game against Waverley at Waverley Oval, he paved the way for a superb win by making 50* as the side chased down 279 in the final over, after Ron Crippin had made 130. His innings was described in The Sun-Herald’s report on the match as “courageous”. Complementing his new record with 316 runs, it was no surprise that Graham won the “most promising player” award that summer. He also captained the under 21 Poidevin-Gray team and managed the under 16s A W Green Shield side.
While Errington was undeniably of huge value to the 1st Grade team, the point was emphasised the following season in one of the “gutsiest” performances seen in Sydney Grade Cricket. Playing Sydney University at the SCG in round 13, Graham batted first drop, finishing the day 15* in a score of 1-39 chasing a declared total of 5-341. Just before stumps however, he took a debilitating knock to the face when attempting a hook shot. He didn’t come off the ground, batting on during the final few overs.
It was later confirmed that the young schoolteacher had suffered a broken jaw. But after a week of sucking custard through a straw due to some uncomfortable wiring of his jaw, to the surprise of everyone, he arrived at the SCG ready to resume his innings the following Saturday. And despite an injury which may have put most players out for the season, Graham defied everything the Uni. bowlers could hurl at him. When he was eventually given out lbw after 208 minutes at the crease, he had scored an amazing 122, hitting 13 fours along the way. Randwick’s final score of 276 was a well beaten one, yet Graham was awarded the major points in The Sydney Morning Herald Cricketer-of-the-Year competition in response to his valiant effort.
Over the following two seasons, Errington remained one of the top bats in the team while continuing to perform well behind the stumps. He batted at no. 8 or as stand-in opener when Alan Turner was on State-duty. In 1976-77 he had his best season with the bat, scoring 450 runs–the most in the team. The 57 he made in the second innings against Sydney led to an outright victory although his top-score of 69, didn’t prevent Penrith taking the points.
Season 1977-78 was a highlight of Graham Errington’s career as the Randwick 1st XI won the premiership undefeated. Errington was very much in the thick of the win with 31 dismissals and 254 runs. And while his top-score of 47 against Balmain brought off a great victory, he made two 30s and a 40 odd batting down the order to help bring home the points in other matches.
The following season, Graham came close to breaking his own ‘keeping record, finishing two dismissals short with 35. He wasn’t as successful with the bat however, a situation which crept into the following summer when the 1st Grade team again won the premiership. The emergence of former Sutherland 1st Grade wicket-keeper/batsman, Alan Campbell, posed problems for club selectors and by mid-season, with a number of runs under his belt, he had taken the 1st Grade gloves. Relegated to 2nds, Errington quickly made his mark with 23 dismissals while after just a couple of games in the side, he was appointed captain.
Graham played in Randwick 2nds over the following two seasons with a couple of matches in 1s as a bat. But at the end of 1981-82, his career with the club came to an end when he switched to Sutherland. He remained its 1st Grade ‘keeper for three seasons before ending his 1st Grade career with his original club, Balmain.
In eight seasons with Randwick, Graham Errington completed 246 wicket-keeping dismissals with 190 in 1st Grade. He also scored 2,408 runs with 1,852 in the top team. In his three-clubs 1st Grade career, he recorded 288 dismissals and scored 2,795 runs. He was also heavily involved in coaching, especially at the NSWCA level where he was connected with many representative teams.
