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Ballarat-Redan Cricket Club History

Cricket to calm the nerves The Ballarat Cricket Club was borne from humble beginnings, initially founded by Jack Mitchell, a Ballarat born lad who grew in stature around town for his poultry breeding. Jack became secretary of the Ballarat Poultry Society in 1928 at the age of 39. After accepting this role, Jack became tired of the squabbling between members and, to combat this, he started a social club within the Society. The objective of this was to build a sense of community and kinship between society members, with early social events including picnics, card nights and cricket matches. The circumstances during this era proved to be very benevolent to cricket. The country was struggling with the Great Depression after the 1929 stock market crash, and the English summer of 1930 was when the great Sir Donald Bradman stamped his authority on the game, amassing 974 runs in only seven innings against the old enemy England. There is little doubt these factors contributed to the popularity of cricket as a pastime amongst social club members. By the early 1930’s, matches were being staged against a variety of opponents on an ad-hoc basis. Often exact teams and equipment were an afterthought, with team captains even decided on the day. The club had developed a reputation amongst the cricketing fraternity as a friendly and sporting bunch who enjoyed their cricket for the love of the game and the interaction it offered, as much as the challenge of the game itself. Starting the association The cricket matches grew in popularity and in the summer of 1932, the Ballarat Poultry Society Cricket Club - affectionately known as “The Chooks” - along with four other clubs formed the “Rovers Association”. By 1934, no less than fifty teams were competing in the Rovers Association, Ballarat District Cricket Association and the Ballarat Industrial Cricket Association. As the Rovers league was viewed as a lesser quality standard of cricket, the team was struggling to find grounds to play on. This led to the club successfully applying for entry into the Ballarat Industrial Cricket Association. The “Doc” It was during this time that the Morton name became synonymous with the club, with Eric Morton captaining the side during his five season career. Eric’s son David - along with good childhood friend Ron Warren - was no doubt been present during his playing career. David “Doc” Morton went on to have a prestigious cricketing career, representing Ballarat in the 1947/48 Country Week carnival, and also playing for University and Richmond whilst studying medicine in Melbourne. Upon returning to the club in 1956 he was named 1st XI (A Grade) captain and played in the 1st XI for many years The war years Between 1934 and the start of World War II in 1939, cricket in Ballarat was flourishing. However, as with most sports (and indeed many recreational activities), the start of the war led to a contraction in playing numbers. During the war, the Rovers Association merged with the Ballarat Industrial Cricket Association, and the Ballarat District Cricket Association was made defunct. This saw the B.I.C.A adopt the title of the “Ballarat Cricket Association” that we now know today. During the war years, the focus of the clubs was not on game results, just fielding a side and having a go. As it had during the depression, cricket again helped to lift community spirits in the face of adversity. After the war After the war ended in 1945, finding players was no longer an issue, and once again the club expanded. In 1946/7, the club entered a 2nd XI in the competition due to strong interest from new players. A lot of the “chook men” that had founded the club were no longer involved, and the club made the decision to rename itself the Ballarat Cricket Club. In 1949, the Redan Cricket Club was formed after the demise of the Railways Cricket Club. At this point not much is known of Redan’s 20-year history, but club officials hope continual digging will shed some more light. “Digger” It was at this time that we also saw the playing debut of one of Ballarat Cricket Clubs (and the Ballarat-Redan Cricket Clubs) greatest ever clubmen - Ron “Digger” Warren. Ron spent his youth training with the lads from the Ballarat Cricket Club in his neighbour’s backyard, and after finishing school cricket with Ballarat High in 1947, slotted straight into the 1st XI. A bizarre event in Ron’s playing career at this time was a match against Mt Clear on February 21st 1955. Digger opened the batting and, after backing up too far at the non-strikers end (after being warned more than once), was run out for a diamond duck before a ball had even been bowled. This put the team in the odd position of being 1/0 off 0 overs! Bigger again By 1960/61, the club had once again expanded to include three teams. From this point on, the club remained strong and continued to enjoy cricket the way the club founders had - with strong competition on the field, yet enjoying the mateship and camaraderie that the club offered. Inauguration of the B.C.A junior competition Until the 1960’s, the Ballarat Cricket Association (B.C.A) had little formal involvement in junior cricket. In the 60’s, junior clubs started to dwindle due to a diminishing number of players coming through the Sunday school system, until then a reliable funnel for junior players. The B.C.A decided to remedy this problem by starting its own junior competition. B.C.A U/15 Cricket was inaugurated in the 1966/7 season. Any club wishing to be classified as an “A Grade” club had to field three senior teams, along with a team in the new U/15 competition. The Ballarat C.C juniors, under the guidance of coach Stan Wallis (now a life member of the B.R.C.C), managed to win the 66/67 inaugural U/15 premiership, and followed this up with three more premierships over the coming three seasons. This was a golden era for our junior teams. Names that have long since echoed around the club were developing their talents during this time. David “Mumpy” Wallis, Wayne “Badger” Lillingston, Ian “Ace” Lillingston, Peter “Charlie” Eltringham, Phil Hoey and Denis Morton all played and thrived during this time. These young men went on to forge and strengthen the newly formed Ballarat-Redan Cricket Club and continue to do so today. Struggling for numbers While this was a positive in a lot of ways, such as streamlining clubs and enabling them to develop junior talent, it also meant that more numbers were required to keep clubs healthy. By the start of the 69/70 season, both the Ballarat C.C and the Redan C.C were struggling to field their four sides (three senior and one junior). The Redan C.C announced its intention to withdraw from the competition. The Ballarat C.C was in a similar position, faced with the prospect of relegation. It proposed to the Redan club that their players join the Ballarat C.C. This was a mutually beneficial proposition, with both clubs bringing something to the table. A common thread through the younger members of both clubs was Ballarat High School, with a lot of players already knowing each other through school. Amongst the notable inclusions to the new side from Redan were members of the Eltringham, Jenkins and Yean families. Under this new arrangement, the club played the 69/70 season under the Ballarat Cricket Club banner. The Wind at our Backs The merger left the club competitions one team short, and the 69/70 season was one that will be remembered for the rare occurrence of having a bye. The club thrived, reaching the Grand Final in the 1st’s, and taking the premiership in the 3rd’s under the guidance of Ron “Digger” Warren, as well as the U/15 premiership. Everything seemed to click straight away. The Courier even commented on 1’s captain David “Doc” Morton’s form with the toss, calling correctly 14 times for the First XI in the season. Formalising the Merger Due to the significant contributions of the Redan players both on and off field in the 69/70 season, a meeting was held at the Bunch of Grapes Hotel, where the club elected to change its name to the Ballarat-Redan Cricket Club, thus formalising the merger. Minutes of this meeting mention that President Ron Warren thought it was “a bloody good idea” and would widen the recruiting net, whilst also allowing the club to keep using the Redan clubrooms (Western Oval) for club functions and the like. Since the 70/71 season the club has proudly sported this name. More juniors After the merger, the club continued to evolve. In 1972/73, the junior competition was expanded. The U/15 competition was scrapped and replaced with the format still used today - U/14’s and U/16’s. Training for junior and senior teams during the early 70’s was held at many venues; Victoria Park 3, Ballarat College, Ballarat High School and the City Oval. Any batsman must sympathise with those from our club that were trying to practice their strokes on City Oval’s practice turf wickets. An unrolled, uncovered pitch with the likes of Ian Lillingston and Barry Yean charging in wasn’t the ideal condition to hone the finer points of your batting technique. In 1973/74, Ron Warren gracefully stepped down as the President of the club, remaining on the committee and active behind the scenes for many years to come. The 73/74 season also saw the inauguration of the 4th XI. No doubt the increase in junior numbers made the committee confident they could fill a fourth side, and their faith was justified with the 4’s tasting success in their first year with a premiership. Home Sweet Home Only a few short years after the merger, the club had grown from four teams to six. The on and off field growth was carefully handled by the office bearers and committee at the time, led by Stan Wallis. By early 1974, it was evident that the nomadic training sessions were not adequate to form a tightly knit playing group. The Ballarat Council was lobbied to help provide training facilities at Alfredton, which they kindly agreed to. By the start of the 74/75 season, the new facilities had been finished. Finally the Ballarat-Redan Cricket Club had a home of its own. In 1970, urban sprawl had not yet fully gripped Alfredton, and one can imagine that the Recreation Reserve was the only sign of civilisation out west at that point. It was 1987 before the Alfredton Primary School relocated there (now located next door to the reserve with enrolments in excess of 500). This didn’t seem to worry the club, who were relishing the fresh start. The club was thriving. In 1974, three clubmen were selected to play in a tour match against New Zealand (presumably in a BCA XI). Rolling on The latter years of the1970’s saw two big changes to the league - the purchase of a turf roller, and in 1978/9, the introduction of six ball overs. It was at this time that Ron Warren mentioned in the minutes that it was time to start working towards a turf wicket at Alfredton. Twenty five years later, the club still hopes to fulfil this goal of Digger’s one day. Cricket was a changing game then - Kerry Packer was in the middle of his clash of horns with the old guard of cricket. Packer’s “World Series Cricket” reformed the game, enticing new fans and forever changing the status quo. Once again, people were very interested in cricket, and by 1984/5, the club was entering a 5th side in the competition. Comments from meetings about the new 5th XI were that the side was to “basically consist of social players.” It was also decided some months later that their performances warranted “special training sessions… in order to improve their skills.” Not much has changed in 20 years! From humble beginnings, the 5ths eventually went on to win the 85/86 premiership the next year. Birth of the watering hole With all the silverware that the 5th’s were bringing in, it was decided that it was time to build clubrooms in order to have a permanent home to display the club’s triumphs. The fact there was no bar to lean on whilst having a beer and watching the cricket may have also influenced this decision. This was a huge undertaking by the committee at the time, and would not be finished until 1990. The clubrooms have since become a much loved place for players both past and present, hosting many functions every year and further cementing our place at the Alfredton Recreation Reserve. In more recent years, the suburb of Alfredton has expanded substantially, and is now a huge recruiting ground for junior talent. At one stage the club saw a contraction in numbers, and had to disband the 5th XI. In 2003/4, this side reformed and have been led by many budding stars since. The club still fields five senior teams. Junior membership is also strong, with the club fielding two U/16, three U/14 and 2 U/12 Teams along with a very successful Milo In'2'Cricket program. 2006 saw the completion of a new, state of the art, five net training facility, replacing the old nets and therefore marking the end to training in the mud. With the development of the Ballarat Memorial Sports club's new bowling greens at Alfredton, the brand new nets were pulled down and rebuilt to make way so we now fit into one big sporting arena! The club continues to look forward, with completion of a second oval for the reserve due in May 2012, and hopefully one day fulfilling one of Digger Warren’s dreams of a turf wicket at Alfredton. Just as the old Ballarat club did, the “Two Swords” have shown successful expansion in recent years and the old club values of fellowship and junior development still ring true, which will hopefully hold the club in good stead for many years to come. Premierships Firsts 	        Seconds 	 Thirds 	 Fourth 	 Fifths  	 U/16  	          U/14 1971-72 	 1971-72 	 1970-71 	 1973-74 	 1985-86 	 1970-71 	 1985-86 1976-77 	 1974-75 	 1972-73 	 1984-85 	 1987-88 	 1973-74 	 2005-06 1990-91 	 1976-77 	 1973-74 	 1992-93 	 1995-96 	 1979-80 	 2006-07 1992-93 	 1983-84 	 1975-76 	 1994-95 	 	         1982-83 	 2006-07 	 1986-87 	 1980-81 	  	  	  	                  1988-89 	 1982-83 	  	  	  	   	         2001-02 	 1983-84 	  	  	  	   	  	 2009-10 	 1986-87 	  	  	  	   	  	  	  	 1991-92