Vale Julia Coote

Sutherland District Cricket Club | September 27, 2024

Julia Coote, Sutherland's long-standing first grade scorer, passed away on Thursday morning. Club historian Tom Iceton posted this obituary on the Sutherland website last night:

It is with a very heavy heart that I write these words from the other side of the world. It is my very sad duty to advise that Julia Coote passed away peacefully this morning after a battle with cancer. It is now over 10 months since we were advised of Jules’ diagnosis, which we passed on to the SDCC community at that time. Jules carried on her life over the last 10 months with a stoic attitude and cheerful disposition, accepting of her fate but not consumed by it.

 Jules first scored for the Club in the 1968-69 season, doing five matches for Sixth Grade, which competed in what was then known as “B” Shires (now 2nd Grade Shires). She scored for the next four seasons, doing Third Grade in 1969-70 and 1970-71 and Second Grade in 1971-72 and 1972-73, plus Poidevin-Gray Shield in 1969-70 and 1971-72. She scored the finals for 3rds and PGs in 1969-70 and 2nds in 1971-72. At that stage, Julie had scored in 75 matches for the Club. She travelled overseas for a period and didn’t return to scoring until the start of the 1977-78 season, coincidentally the first full season that I played for SDCC. Not surprisingly, it didn’t take long for me to get to know Jules – the start of a long friendship between two cricket tragics! She had a very gregarious personality when in the cricket environment and became very well-known across the Sydney grade cricket community as she embarked on a 30-year career as scorer for our First Grade team. She only stopped scoring when a stroke forced her hand, but she made a good recovery and continued to be an enthusiastic supporter of the Club for many years.

Between 1977-78 and 2006-07, Jules scored in 495 matches for First Grade and 580 matches across all grades. This included our two premierships in 1995-96 and 1997-98, which were obviously a highlight for her. She also did 10 seasons during that time as scorer for PGs, which included our first three PG premierships in 1987-88, 1988-89 and 1998-99. She also scored in 18 lower grade finals matches when 1sts were out of contention, doubling her premierships tally with successful finals in 5ths in 1978-79, 2nds in 1996-97 and 4ths in 1999-00, 2001-02 & 2006-07 (her final match). In total, Jules scored in 655 matches for the Club (495 in 1sts, 37 in 2nds, 34 in 3rds, 4 in 4ths, 2 in 5ths, 5 in “B” Shires and 78 in PGs). This included 44 finals series matches. Outside of the two First Grade finals, undoubtedly the highlight of Jules’ scoring career for SDCC was the 3rd of February 2007, when she made the Sunday Telegraph the following day after Phil Jaques’ mammoth 321 with Jules scoring was the subject of a double page spread – “When Jaques is in the zone, writer’s cramp is a hazard for the scorer”!

Jules also scored for many minor representative matches in Sydney during her career, including for Queensland and South Australia in under age championship carnivals held in Sydney. She became an enthusiastic scorer member of the NSW Cricket Umpires’ & Scorers’ Association when they went from being the NSWCUA to the NSWCUSA. Jules also undertook a number of trips to follow cricket around the world, her final trip being another of her highlights when she went to the West Indies for the World Cup in March & April 2007. Fittingly, she was at the final in Barbados when Australia defeated Sri Lanka in what was Glenn McGrath’s final international match – fitting because Jules provided Glenn with accommodation for a period during his early years in Sydney.

Julia Coote has had a lifetime of enjoyment following her passion for cricket. Sutherland District Cricket Club has been the beneficiary of a significant part of that passion as she backed up year after year to carry out the very important task of scoring for First Grade. Her commitment to the Club was recognised on the 5th of July 1988, when she was made a Life Member (along with Barry Davison & Tom Iceton). In August 2000, she was awarded the Australian Sports Medal, which was struck in conjunction with the Sydney Olympic & Paralympic Games to recognise Australians who had contributed to sport across all levels from international level to grass roots.

Jules – you will be missed but not forgotten. Your contribution to Sutherland District Cricket Club has been outstanding. May you rest in peace. To Jules’ sister Liz and the rest of her family, we extend our most sincere condolences on your loss.

Tom Iceton