Part 3 - The history of St George District Cricket Club 1941-42 to 1950-51

St George Cricket Club | February 01, 2024

The St George District Cricket Club boasts a proud history which has now extended beyond a century.

When the club entered the first-grade competition in 1921-22, few could have predicted the success and prestige that would accompany it in the ensuing century. As the club celebrates its centenary of first grade across the 2020-21 and 2021-22 seasons there is an opportunity to celebrate many of the outstanding performances and moments that have occurred.

With this in view, it was decided to compile a list of 100 moments in 100 years.

This is not a list of the 100 greatest moments in club history, but rather a celebration of significant achievements and milestones that have occurred across 100 seasons of first grade cricket in the St George district.

To ensure that recency bias did not creep in it was decided that each decade would receive 10 spaces on this list to complete the 100.

This has allowed for a greater balance across all eras of club history whilst also highlighting the significant achievements of particular periods such as the 1930s and 1960s.

The undertaking of this task has required significant reference to annual reports, statistics, and books on the history of the club. Of particular usefulness were the annual reports from the 1960-61 and 1970-71 seasons which celebrated 50 years of club history and 50 years of first grade respectively.

These two reports provided plentiful information on the early days of the club and of significant performances from these periods as well.

Let it be recorded that this wonderful body of work was compiled by Nathan Anderson, a passionate St George player and clubman who like many is proud of his club's history.

We take the opportunity to thank Nathan for his work and continuing a legacy forged by many before him including his grandfather, the late Brian Booth.

1941-42 – 1950-51

1. Harold Stapleton (pictured) completes a remarkable all-round season, scoring 479 runs, taking 19 wickets and securing 22 catches. (1941-42)

2. Bill O’Reilly takes more than 100 wickets in consecutive seasons. 108 at 9 and 109 at 8.6 in the 1941-42 and 1942-43 seasons respectively.

3. Across three consecutive seasons, Ross Longbottom secures over 50 wickets. His 70 wickets in 1942-43, 68 in 1943-44, and 56 in 1944-45 are second only to his contemporary Bill O’Reilly.

4. Billy O’Reilly takes a record-breaking 147 wickets at 8.29 in the 1943-44 season. O’Reilly takes 17 five wicket hauls throughout the season, with best figures of 8 for 49 against Mosman. The record remains as the highest haul in a grade cricket season. (1943-44)

Bill O'Reilly

5. The club wins its fifth successive club championship but loses a “thrilling” final against Marrickville in which the match was “alive until the last ball” in the presence of 8,000 spectators. (1943-44)

6. Jack Giffen, a newly promoted young player, compiles 817 runs in a season. (1943-44)

7. T Klose and Jack Giffen create a record partnership for the first wicket, compiling 228 runs against Waverley. Klose, an interstate player from South Australia is stationed in Sydney during the war. (1943-44)

8. R Cristofani represents Australia in the ‘Victory Tests’ against England following the end of the Second World War. He secures match figures for 9 for 92 at Lords and scores an unbeaten century (110*) at Old Trafford. (1945-46)

R Cristofani

9. Arthur Morris and Ray Lindwall are both selected for their Test debuts in the first Ashes series in Australia since the war. In the fourth Test, Morris scores a century in both innings. Both men later contribute greatly to the ‘Invincibles’ tour of 1948, with Lindwall gaining a reputation as one of the great fast bowlers of the era. (1946-47)

Arthur Morris

Ray Lindwall

10. Bill O’Reilly announces his retirement. He finishes his playing time with the club with a record-breaking 766 wickets in first grade. A record which remains intact and will likely not be beaten. (1946-47)