A group of Sydney cricketers, led by Test batsmen Jim Burke from Manly and Norm O’Neill from St. George, decided that Grade teams could also play on Sundays, and they launched, with the help of the tobacco company Rothmans, a limited-overs knockout tournament.
With the lack of availability of many of the grade club grounds on a Sunday, it was left to the clubs to find a ground and with Manly Oval available Gordon were invited to play the first one day match against Manly at the Oval on 3 December 1967.
