Saint Michael’s Cricket Club, Wagga Wagga, Diamond Jubilee Reunion speech

Saint Michael’s Cricket Club, Wagga Wagga, Diamond Jubilee Reunion speech

Usually at this point we would acknowledge country and the traditional owners but let us instead recognise some of the Aboriginal cricketers who have represented our club over the years. Players such as Carl Bamblett, the late Claude Jackson, Scott Saddler and I’m sure you could think of others who have played with us over the past 60 years.

Tonight we mark not just another season of Saint Michael’s Cricket Club but we gather to celebrate 60 wonderful years.

That is quite an achievement.

This is not just another Riverina sporting club.

For those who have been around the club for long enough, it is Summer.

St Michael’s is what you do in the hottest months of the year.

But don’t take my word for it. Ask Peter Piltz. Eric Koetz. Or David Loneragan.

They know what I’m talking about.

The first two I named, like me, can recall when the club was called Marian, prior to the 1985-86 season.

This is a great club.

But a club is only as good as its people.

To that end, St Michael’s is the best club for it has some remarkable stalwarts.

I’ve mentioned three – Piltzy, Koetzy and Buckets.

But tonight we are also fortunate to have in our presence Alan McFayden who was awarded life membership way back in December 1976. Welcome, Alan.

You are all very welcome.

Whether you’ve just finished your first season with St Michael’s or are a hardy stalwart, you have a home here and we’re pleased you’ve given up your evening for this reunion-presentation night.

Marian played its first ever match against Tarcutta at Bolton Park No. 4 in third grade in 1963-64, batting first and winning by 32 runs.

The club was promoted to Wagga Wagga Cricket Association’s top competition in 1972-73 and had a baptism of fire, coming up against the mighty Lake Albert,

Lake Albert made 340 in Marian’s first division debut and won by 249 runs … but we were in the competition and there to stay.

Lake’s formidable Derek Rogers fell for a duck that day.

Derek was considered the greatest ever O’Farrell Cup player with 1600 runs in that competition.

He was killed in a terrible road smash in 1979 as were Mick Larkins and David Mumford, returning from a representative match at Hillston.

Opening the batting for us that day was Mark Walsh, who would give this club sterling service on and off the field for many, many years.

Thank you Walshy.

Co-captain was the late Norm McLennan, a seam bowler of some renown.

Other captains in the 1970s included Mick Yarrington, Cliff Boyd, Gerald Pieper and Anthony Croke.

In 1981-82 women’s cricket reformed in Wagga Wagga and Marian did very well in the competition.

Players such as Julie Bradley, Jenny McRae and Regina Roach led the way. Later, when the women’s competition folded Regina took up playing in the men’s third and fourth grades and a tougher batter you wouldn’t find.

Also in 1981-82 Marian won the third grade premiership and you’re probably wondering why I’m talking about this in a history talk … as important as the thirsty third are!

It was a two-day grand final and we were up against undefeated RSL and we were batting first.

Our captain was Terry O’Connell, cricketer of a weekend, Senior Police Constable the rest of the week.

Terry was not out when stumps were drawn on the Saturday at the Wagga Wagga Cricket Ground.

That night ominous clouds rolled in over the city. O’Connell dashed down to the police lockup, grabbed every blanket he could muster and carefully laid them out over the entire centre wicket area and slept there overnight.

RSL fully expected to turn up the next day, see a saturated oval and win on a washout.

Not so!

The ground was as dry as a chip, O’Connell continued his innings and carried his bat for 60 and Marian, fourth entering the finals, went on to win a memorable decider. Cop that!

In that Marian thirds’ XI was Mark Gooden who took 3-34.

He could bowl.

Later, Gooden and Canberra speedster Paul Van Meurs – the flying Dutchman – comprised the best opening bowling combination the club has probably ever boasted.

Goof took 35 wickets at 13.22 in that 1989-90 season and Van Meurs 32 at 11.18.

Sadly, Goof is no longer with us.

We should’ve won that competition.

The preliminary final against was there for the taking but our overnight batsman Marty Loy, on 42, didn’t show at the appointed hour – there was an earlier start on the Sunday – and was timed out and the haste and confusion then cost us quick wickets from which we never recovered.

They were fantastic years.

I took over in 1988-89 for a four-season stint as club president and in ’89-90 we won our first club championship. As president and chairman of selectors, I was pretty proud of that.

In 1990-91 Peter Engelbrecht made the all-time highest first grade score of 154 which a young Tom Byrnes, son of Steve and now a doctor, would later challenge but not quite pass.

One of the finest all-round performances for the club was Lee Barclay’s 82 and 7-48 in a spell of 23 overs which included two maidens in 1994-95.

Other big names in those bygone eras were Alby Hetherington, Charlie Cattell, wicketkeeper Alan Johnston, Frank Goodyer, the late, great Anthony Baker, former Sheffield Shield quick Paul Stepto, the late Dave Oakley, Shane Till, whose life was cruelly and tragically taken in the 2002 Bali Bombing, and so many more.

No potted history would be complete without mention of our greatest day as a club.

It was the 1st of April 2007 but this was no April Fool’s Day joke.

We won the premiership.

46 years in the making and we were on top of the heap.

How good.

How very good!

But to fully appreciate just how momentous this occasion was, you have to turn the clock back 12 months to the previous season’s grand final.

We lost the grand final by just one run to RSL.

We’d lost our last two wickets in three deliveries with Ian Donohue out to a freakish catch and then Scott Honeyman bowled by Ben Oakley for a second ball duck.

Oakley took 9-27, phenomenal figures in any match, let alone a grand final.

Move on a year and Honeyman more than made amends, taking two wickets in successive balls for us to beat Kooringal Colts by 13 runs when it seemed we could well be denied again.

Those eleven players will always be remembered and revered by our club.

James Elliott, Anthony Baker, Justin Ward, Marty Loy, Hugh Le Lievre, Mark Grigg, Erin Koetz, Ian Donohue, Scott Honeyman, Matthew Walder and Steve Weckert.

Champions all.

Premiership heroes.

Bakes passed away in 2019 at the age of 59.

You young blokes in the room probably think that’s old but let me tell you, it’s not.

It was way too young for someone who came to the club as captain-coach in 2000-01 and changed the way we played. He tough us toughness and made us winners.

We mourn for his loss as we grieve for all who have worn the red and blue and are gone from this world.

Dave Garness and English recruit Beck Frostick have been so good for us in recent years and I couldn’t go without mentioning Nathan Corby about whom Buckets gave such a glowing endorsement when we were chatting this afternoon, particularly for what he does off the field as well.

So thank you Nathan.

Thank you to all who have scored a run, held or dropped a catch or snared a wicket in our 60 summers and may St Michael’s go on being the place to be for the next 60 summers in Wagga Wagga.

I say thank you on behalf of the founders, particularly Peter Piltz. I mean, what other cricket club in Wagga Wagga has anyone like Peter Piltz? I can tune in wherever I am in the world to see how St Michael’s is going by looking at the club’s Facebook and get Peter Piltz’s regular updates and for a bloke of his age, his vintage, that’s great. I’m not going to embarrass Piltzy by asking his age but I can remember opening the batting with Piltzy in fourth grade with Piltzy one afternoon after Mum hadn’t picked me up after juniors. I was 15. As we walked out I said to Piltzy: “I haven’t opened before. What do I do?” He replied: “Anything on the stumps block, anything outside just let go.” “So I did and batted all afternoon and made 25!”

When times have been tough for this great cricket club he has kept us together. When someone new needed an introduction to the club, he was there to do it. When the scores needed doing, when the water needed carrying, when anything else needed to be done, it was Peter Piltz who did it. Peter Piltz is St Michael’s Cricket Club and Peter, I thank you on behalf of all of us here. I know you will continue to do it for our club.

To everyone else, our life members, Alan (McFadyen), Walshy, thank you for being part of this club … it is an institution, it is what we do in Summer.

And I also thank the ladies, wives, partners for also being so supportive.

Thank you all.

Paul Pfitzner