Phil Weatherall - Sutherland Cap No 122 and Life Member
Sutherland District Cricket Club | September 15, 2023
On 16 July 2017 at the Sutherland District Cricket Club Annual General meeting for the 2016/17 season Phil Weatherall was nominated for Life Membership of the club
Here is Phil Weatherall Nomination for Life Membership as presented by Mathew Duff.
NOMINATION OF PHIL WEATHERALL FOR LIFE MEMBERSHIP
Phil Weatherall joined Sutherland in 1981-82, when he played AW Green Shield and a few matches in 4ths and 5ths. The following season, he again played AWG, plus 12 matches in 3rds, 4ths and 5ths. He started 1983-84 in 4ths and moved up to 3rds after two matches. On 7th January 1984, he broke the club record for highest score in all grades (held by Norm O’Neill since the Club’s first match in 1965), scoring 173 not out at North Sydney Oval No.2. He went up to 2nds after this and played the last match of the season in 1st Grade, making his debut on 24th March 1984 – player #122. In all grades, he scored 535 runs at an average of 31.5.
In 1984-85, Phil was a member of the 3rd Grade team that dominated the season, but unfortunately lost the semi-final. The next two seasons saw him play a mixture of 1sts and 2nds, before he established himself as a regular member of 1st Grade in 1987-88, scoring 413 runs at 25.8 and taking 23 wickets at 28.7. He also captained the Poidevin-Gray Shield team to the Club’s first premiership in that competition. The next five seasons were the peak of Phil’s career, as he scored 1877 runs at 29.8 and took 147 wickets at 23.0 in 1sts. The team made the semi-finals in 1989-90 and 1990-91, with Phil having a stellar season in 1990-91 – scoring 515 runs at 46.8 and taking 43 wickets at 20.0. He was rewarded with the James A. Daly Memorial Award for Player of the Season, as well as finishing second in the O’Reilly Medal for SCA first grade player of the year.
Phil played in the Club’s first 1st Grade premiership team in 1995-96, hitting the winning runs in the memorable final at Bankstown Oval. He played one more season and then retired. Phil came out of retirement to help me with 3rds in 2000-01 and we made the final that season, followed by the qualifying final the next season. In three seasons in 3rds, Phil scored 1170 runs at 36.6 and took 79 wickets at 21.9. After two more seasons in higher grades, Phil thereafter helped in lower grades when there was a shortage of players, finally playing his last match in 5ths in 2012-13.
In all grades for the Club, Phil played 324 matches (equal seventh most for the Club). He scored 7823 runs at an average of 28.1 including 8 centuries and took 432 wickets (sixth most for the Club). He also took 91 catches in all grades. In 1st Grade, he played 131 matches, scoring 2985 runs at an average of 25.7 and taking 219 wickets at an average of 24.3 – one of only three players (along with Tony Clark and Luke Dudman) to score 2000 runs and take 200 wickets in 1st Grade. In 3rd Grade, he scored 1893 runs at 30.5 and took 101 wickets at 22.3. He captained the Club in 16 matches, in all grades from 1sts to P-Gs. He played in two premiership teams and was part of the Club Championships in 1986-87 and 2001-02. He played for NSW Under 16s in 1982-83 and NSW Under 19s in 1985-86.
Phil took over as Chairman of Selectors in 2013-14 and has dedicated a tremendous amount of time over the last four seasons into what is an increasingly difficult role, as players’ attitudes to availability have become somewhat different to his own playing days. Phil has also assisted at club training in recent years and been a valuable resource to the coaching staff and players during that time.
Phil’s contribution to Sutherland DCC over the last 36 years as a player, captain, coach and chairman of selectors has been considerable. He is a most worthy candidate for life membership of the Club and I am delighted to nominate him. He deserves your unanimous support.
MATHEW DUFF
A photo of Phil Weatherall NSW Under 19 team from 1985/86 - Phil is standing 2nd from the left
