Penrith Cricket Club 4th Grade Premiers 1984/85
Penrith Cricket Club | April 30, 2024
Back Row – Brett Howarth, Steve Richardson, Tony Dukes, John Saint, Darren Morris
Front Row – Chris Harper, Paul Thompson, Jon Llewelyn, Stuart Hogan, Mark Freeman, Andrew Williams
The Final was against Northern District, who had upset the Minor Premiers Wests in the other Semi-final. We therefore went in as No.1 team, handy in case of rain. The venue was Mosman’s ground, Rawson Oval. Jon Llewelyn remembers the Final as a real ‘heart stopper’. Penrith won the toss and fielded because there was some dew on an otherwise perfect batting pitch. It was a good call, for a while. “At 6/71 we could have been forgiven for feeling a bit cocky,” said Jon, who had most of the wickets. But, the tail wagged and they finished with 210. Bowling: Llewelyn 4/58, Mark Butler 2/36 and John Saint 2/66. Penrith at stumps were one run, none out. The hunt for the Cup resumed on Sunday morning, Jason Penrose and Tony Dukes at the crease, and, they were travelling smoothly until Tony nicked one; 1/34. Soon it was 2/49 and when Penrose, “poised and confident”, went for a well compiled 50, caught behind, we were 3/82. Then age and youth combined: the experienced Geoff Bannister (39) and Steve Burns (22), only 15 years old, took the score to 4/144. Then another crash! At 8/162 and still needing 49 Llewelyn joined John Saint, whose score, 16, matched his age.
Llewelyn remembers: “The tension was incredible. John was gaining in confidence and hitting the loose ball; we could see the light at the end of the tunnel. Their captain gambled and made a bowling change, John played the first two balls, then the loose ball came and John dispatched it to the boundary; the next, fractionally shorter, was lifted over the fence; another four brought up John’s 50, and then an on-drive for two and we were Premiers. John had scored 47 of the 49-run partnership, to be 57 not out. A magnificent innings displaying a temperament one would expect from a far more senior player.” The younger players Saint and Burns were products of that season’s AW Green Shield team and Dukes, Andrew Williams, Brett Howarth and Penrose from previous Green Shield teams.
