A Tribute to Bert Alderson - Celebrating his 100th Birthday
Parramatta District Cricket Club | December 10, 2024
Albert ‘Bert’ Alderson, who in his playing days was an outstandingly productive left-handed batsman for both the Parramatta District Cricket Club and the Sydney University Cricket Club, on Saturday 14th December 2024 celebrates his 100th birthday – thus becoming the fourth former Parramatta player to reach that milestone, the others were Jack Anthony, Bill Smith and Alan Cramond.
Bert Alderson was literally a run machine – one of only a handful of batsmen to top 14,000 runs in grade cricket – of which 10,731 were made in 1st Grade with Central Cumberland and Sydney University. Right from the start of his career he was an intelligent batsman, who played with strong application, measured aggression and ‘understood what was required to be a consistent and prolific run-maker’.
It remains a great mystery that how as successful a 1st grade player as Bert, wasn’t ever chosen to represent NSW in the Sheffield Shield competition – like many other Central Cumberland players over the years, the State Selectors didn’t seem to notice him.
Small in stature he was a compact left-hander who spent much of his early career as an opening batsman. Bert’s batting was well organised, based on a tight defence, fluent on-side play and a strong appetite for runs. He possessed a sharp eye as befits a talented State Baseballer and he was severe on any wayward bowling. By all reports his fielding ability was of the first order, and he was a more than handy back-up wicketkeeper in his younger days.
Bert first came to notice as a member of Cumberland’s A.W. Green Shield team of 1939/40 and made some fill-in appearances in the Shires and 4th grade teams that season – Shires skipper Jack Tenie was obviously a good judge of a player when after only four innings he wrote – “B. Alderson, a product of Parramatta High, came into the side late in the season and revealed possibilities out of the ordinary. Natural ability he has in abundance which, when blended with experience, should mould in him a potential first grade cricketer. The four innings he played realised 29, 20, 12 and 87 not out. The last innings particularly stamps him a batsman with a complete repertoire of strokes.”
His lengthy grade career began in earnest from the 1940/41 season and concluded as it started with some fill-in appearances to assist Cumberland in the 1973/74 season, this timeframe was punctuated by Bert’s secondment to Sydney University’s 1st grade team in 1951/52 to 1952/53 (whilst completing his Engineering degree) and again as captain between 1961/62 and 1965/66.
Bert played 20 full years of 1st grade for Central Cumberland between 1941/42 and 1973/74 – scoring an imposing 7,740 runs @ 28.04 - plus 7 seasons for Sydney University – and in total he peeled off a gargantuan 11,016 runs @ 31.21 for the Parramatta based club, this included 6 1st grade centuries (best – 135 v. Manly in 1945/46), 4 in 2nd grade and 1 in 3rd grade.
Entering 1st grade whilst still a teenager, the determined left-hander immediately made his presence felt in the top grade and was at the zenith of his powers for Cumberland during the entire 1940s. Despite being young and inexperienced he was the club’s most ‘bankable’ batsman during the unstable days of World War II. During those seasons he regularly took out the team’s batting honours – indeed he produced a rich vein of scoring with best seasonal aggregates of 560, 611, 672, 607, 509 between 1942/43 and 1949/50.
After acting as fill-in captain in Richie Benaud’s absences in 1955/56, Bert captained the Cumberland 1st grade team in a diligent and capable manner during seasons 1956/57 and 1957/58. In 1961 he transferred his allegiances to Sydney University, whom he captained for the next five seasons. However, ‘once a Cumbo always a Cumbo’ and Bert re-joined the club in 1966/67, initially just wanting a game in the 2nd grade side, but after just 4 innings for 301 runs he was elevated back into 1st grade for the remainder of the season. The next two seasons saw him elect to play in the club’s 3rd grade team and help the development of a group of promising youngsters, after that he took on the valuable role of 2nd eleven captain between 1969–72, continuing to bat productively and utilizing his vast experience to groom batsmen for 1st grade.
Away from the cricket field Bert had risen in his professional capacity to become the Holroyd Council’s Chief Engineer and was honoured with the Merrylands Oval Grandstand being formally named the ‘Bert Alderson Stand.’
The Alderson family were well represented at the club with Bert’s brother Ken playing in the lower grades, and in the 1970s his sons Greg (left-handed bat and right-arm leg-spinner) played 2nd grade and made a few appearances in 1st grade, whilst Doug also a left-handed batsman and part-time off-spinner played 1st grade with good success prior to following the pursuit of a career away from the cricket field.
At a Parramatta District Cricket Club fund-raising Legends Luncheon in 2008, Richie Benaud a playing contemporary of Bert Alderson had this to say:
“I had the great fortune to play in the same Central Cumberland side as Bert in 1946.
He and his family did tremendous things for young people – he was a mentor to me because they had a concrete practice pitch with a mat out Northmead way and we would practice there. The whole family welcomed the Benauds, and it was a tremendous thing.”
Bert Alderson’s Playing Career Statistics with Central Cumberland (Parramatta) District Cricket Club.
Many of his contemporary cricketers were puzzled that Bert was never selected in the NSW Sheffield Shield team.
Albert H. ‘Bert’ Alderson remains a cricketer of special standing with the Parramatta District Cricket Club – a Life Member – the leading all-time run-getter with Club – one of just three players to score more than 10,000 runs for the club – and in 2015 was named in both the 1950s and 1960s Teams of the Decade for the club.
Bert was Club President in 1969/70 when Cumberland won the Club Championship for the first time, a role he continued in until the close of the 1971/72 season.
Congratulations on your latest century Bert from all at the Parramatta District Cricket Club!!!!!
(By Tom Wood – PDCC Historian)
