Sutherland AW Green Shield Premiers 1970-71
Sutherland District Cricket Club | November 21, 2024
Back row: Lance Ray (Manager), Grahame Barry, Paul Aasa, Simon Oxley, Mick Marien, Peter Mitchell, David Russell, Chris Gardner, Ted Cotton (Coach).
Front row: Andrew Hilditch, Stephen Anderson, Ken Rose (Captain), Ian Everett, Geoff Piper, Jeff Davies.
Sutherland won the AW Green Shield for the first time in 1970-71. After winning the Southern Division undefeated, we played the Northern Division winners Northern District in the final over two days on 26 & 27 January 1971 at the SCG No.2. Northern District batted first and were bowled out for 127. The pace attack of David Russell, Paul Aasa and Grahame Barry shared the wickets with 4-46, 3-35 & 3-24 respectively. Sutherland then replied with 227, a lead of exactly 100. Openers Ian Everett and 14-year-old Andrew Hilditch got the innings off to a good start with a partnership of 51, before Peter Mitchell consolidated the innings with the top score of 72. David Russell and captain Ken Rose added useful late order runs, with 28 & 35 respectively. Sutherland then bowled Northern District out again for only 98, to win by an innings & 2 runs. Spinner Mick Marien did the damage with 5-13 as NDs collapsed from 2/77 to 98 all out.
The Annual Report read as follows:
The overall success of the team can be attributed to “team effort”, starting with Ted Cotton as coach, Lance Ray as manager, the boys themselves who, by their unselfish attitude, drew favourable praise from opponents and a large band of enthusiastic supporters. Both Ted and Lance contributed valuable personal time, Ted’s influence was reflected in the bowlers, particularly the medium pacers who kept things tight when the going looked hard. Ken Rose did a splendid job as captain, inspiring the side with his fielding and having his players’ full support.
It would be difficult to single out any player for special mention, openers Andrew Hilditch and Ian Everett generally giving a good start, middle order batsmen in David Russell, Peter Mitchell, Stephen Anderson and Grahame Barry all consistent and the medium pace attack of David Russell, Paul Aasa and Grahame Barry all doing that extra bit when called on. Michael Marien provided the variety with a splendid performance in the Final.
Chris Gardner was a sound keeper and one must not forget the other members who played when called upon – Tony Condon, Jeff Davies, Geoff Piper and Simon Oxley. One interesting point is that in the Final, 8 players were clean bowled in Northern District’s first innings and six in the second, certifying as to the accuracy of the bowlers.
Of the team that played in the Final, five of the players went on to play over 100 matches for the Club:
Grahame Barry – 333 matches – scored 4421 runs and took 608 wickets
Andrew Hilditch – 202 matches – scored 5023 runs and took 83 wickets
Ian Everett – 192 matches – scored 4920 runs
Ken Rose – 126 matches – scored 1626 runs and took 234 wickets
David Russell – 121 matches – scored 2064 runs and took 267 wickets
Chris Gardner went on to play 130 first grade matches for Cronulla-Sutherland in the NSWRL competition between 1978 and 1985, including the Grand Final replay against Manly-Warringah in 1978. He also played 20 matches in mid-week competitions, including the 1979 Amco Cup Final when the Sharks defeated Brisbane.
