Inverell Cricketers, Curators and Centuries
Les Eastaway | May 07, 2023
As a lover of cricket it was certainly not a chore for Les Eastaway to research and write about the sport. Following the compilation of ‘Cricket in the Manning’, he chose to research and document cricket in the township of Inverell and nearby regions.
The 2012-13 season opened with Les spending the first of six summers scoring for a local town team.
Two double centuries in the opening weeks whet his appetite to ‘dig’ for prominent big scores and admirable bowling performances. He unearthed a tarnished trophy, the cup and some fine stats became his ‘baby’ to compile enough notes to enable a book of Sapphire City cricket tracing over one hundred years.
The book is titled, ‘Inverell Cricketers, Curators and Centuries.’
The formation details of the Inverell Cricket Association was sighted and many of the officer bearers, in fact all to guide the association in one hundred and eighteen years are listed. Scorebooks, scrapbooks and the wonderful archives of the local newspaper provided much of the history. Photos from many eras adorn the pages to add so much variety to the cricketing yarn. The hotel where the ICA was formed, the champion Little Plain side of the 1930s and local boy Rick McCosker, NSW and Australian hero are contained in the gallery of photos.
Rick, along with almost two dozen locals have ventured to grade cricket in Sydney and Brisbane. Names likes Gary Bensley, Tim Sparke and Aaron Flaherty have risen to captain their first grade teams with Gary receiving fine accolades from his Randwick club. Not to be forgotten, Alan Campbell flew the Inverell flag as a successful player, coach and administrator in Sydney also.
The career of Rick McCosker is duly noted right through to his years as an accomplished Australian Test cricketer.
A highlight for the reader is the Foreword by Adam Gilchrist. The famous name has a strong connection to Inverell with Adam’s Pa, father, uncle and a brother figuring prominently as notable cricketers in the Inverell competition.
The book will attract loyal and die-hard Inverellians with statistics, folklore and cherished memories. Librarians and historians will view the content as an important chapter of NSW country cricket, a reminder of the value of the ‘sporting country-cousins’.
Note: The author’s wish is that proceeds from book sales, 100%, will go to Inverell Cricket Association. It is hoped a turf wicket roller will be added to the inventory of assets.
