The History of Warringah
The year is 1976 and after Ryde-Balmain can no longer continue in the Municipal and Shires competition the door is open for another cricket club, one from the Northern Beaches. Two men, Frank Gray and Bruce Louden, from the Manly-Warringah Cricket Association are given the tough task of building a club from scratch with only spare players from the Manly Grade Club and a council rubbish tip to play at.
Frank was the long-running secretary of the Manly-Warringah Cricket Association while Bruce was ideally involved in junior liaison, relocating the young players who missed out on Grade selection. They opened the batting together in the local A-Grade competition but this was to be their greatest partnership.
Frank and Bruce worked tirelessly to create Warringah Cricket Club, one of the strongest clubs in Shires cricket that has some of the best players, a tranquil location and a camaraderie that is unmatched. However, it was not always this way. While the amount of success the club has had on the field so early is remarkable, it is not quite as astonishing as the rise of Weldon Oval, the home of Warringah.
Situated on the southern side of Greendale Creek Harbord, Weldon Oval is the result of major reclamation work carried out by Warringah Shire Council once Brookvale Oval was converted into a fully-fledged football stadium.
Originally the area was a swamp surrounded by dense bush. Properties acquired for parkland during the 1950's and 1960's included Weldon Estate, near Stirgess Avenue, and a section of the Holloway's Nursery, which had produced spoon lillies for market.
For fifteen years the area was a council tip. Excavation, dumping and levelling was a continuous operation seven days a week. The scene at weekends was a hive of activity, with rubbish-laden vehicles queuing up to tip and professional scavengers jealously protecting their rights.
In 1975, playing fields were graded and grassed and the turf wicket on Weldon Oval became widely regarded as one of the best cricket wickets in Sydney which is highlighted by numerous awards from the Sydney Cricket Association.
(left - The Frank Gray Shield) Frank has a competition named after him also
Warringah proudly fielded C and D grade teams in 1982/83. The ground was officially named the "Frank Gray Ground" due to Frank's untiring and dedicated long service to cricket in the Manly-Warringah-Pittwater district. It was fitting that Frank Gray, although suffering with multiple sclerosis, with great difficulty but with determination, got out of his wheel chair and batted away the first ball bowled at the ground by Harry Fraser.
It wasn't long before the need for Third and Fourth Grade teams meant that another turf wicket was required. There was room for this, adjacent to Weldon Oval on the western side. After much lobbying from Frank and Bruce with the Warringah Council, ground staff Harry Fraser and John Ward laid a magnificent turf wicket.
In 2008 major redevelopment work was carried out on Frank Gray Oval including laying a new wicket square, laser leveling, irrigation and drainage of the outfield. A new ground was created in conjunction with Manly Warringah District Cricket Cub - Mike Pawley Oval.
Early 2009 in conjunction with Warringah Wolves AFL, Warringah Cricket Club, and Manly Warringah District Cricket Club, the Warringah Council plans to carry out a similar major redevelopment work to Weldon Oval - including a new clubhouse.
After all the work that Frank and Bruce carried out Warringah Cricket Club now plays a vital role for cricket in the local community. It provides a competition for cricketers who wish to compete seriously on turf wickets without the level of commitment required of the Sydney Grade competition.
Despite being one of the most professional clubs in the Shires competition Warringah usually train only once a week so that the commitment is not too difficult for the players, however the club is very close in that there are many social functions throughout the year allowing players the perfect mix of competitive cricket on the field and social enjoyment off it.
Junior development is an area that Warringah are very strong and it is apparent that the average age of players in each team is most often significantly lower than the opposition. Warringah encourage skilled junior players to join and the club plays a vital part in their development as Shires cricket provides the experience of a quality senior turf competition. The players who then progress to Grade cricket do so with confidence in their ability to compete at a higher level.
This element of junior development provides a link between Warringah and Manly-Warringah District Cricket Club which has grown to become an extremely productive relationship. One of the prime reasons Warringah was created was to develop young cricketers and prepare them for the grade competition and Warringah has been particularly successful in doing this.
A number of Manly's most noted players commenced their development at Warringah and currently many of the current squad have spent some time at our club. The relationship between the two clubs has more recently started to work in both ways with some notable former Manly players returning to Warringah with a wealth of experience and knowledge.
Many of the young players that Warringah has helped develop have gone on to greater success at higher levels in Australian cricket. The club can proudly claim that they have had a hand in the development of a NSW captain in Shawn Bradstreet. Despite suffering from an onset of stress fractures in the back early in his career Bradstreet has gone on to much success at Manly Cricket Club and has also become a regular at domestic level for NSW. In 1998/99 Bradstreet was named as the Mercantile Mutual Cup Rookie of the Year and in season 1999/2000 Bradstreet had the honour of captaining his state side.
Tim Cruickshank holds the club record for the most number of runs compiled in Fourth Grade in a season (611) at Warringah and the 20 year-old is now a regular in Manly's First Grade side. In recent seasons young players such as Michael Cosentino, Craig Little, Andrew Lindsay, Ritchie Butterworth, Ben King, Danny Reynolds and Luke Edgell have also made their debuts in First Grade after spending time at Warringah. At last count, a total of 17 Warringah juniors have progressed to 1st Grade at Sydney clubs Manly, North Sydney and Campbelltown-Camdem.
Former NSW Under-17 representative, Louie McMillan, also played First Grade at Manly and recently joined fellow former first-graders David Ford, Geoff Tucker and David Gainsford back at Warringah before returning to Grade once again. McMillan learnt his trade early at Warringah while Tucker was involved in the club's lone First Grade victory in 1987/88 and Ford was 1st grade captain and Club Coach in 1997/98 when Warringah won their second Club Championship.
One of the most talented players to represent Warringah has been Peter Banbury. Banbury represented Australia at Under-19 level with Test players Matthew Hayden and Damien Martin and he currently holds the record for most runs in First Grade in a season for Warringah with 515.
Despite being a relatively young club Warringah has boasted some of the most successful sides in Shires cricket and today remain one of the strongest clubs in the competition. Twice Warringah has won the elusive Club Championship, once in 1988/89 and more recently in 1997/98. In the past 19 seasons Warringah has finished in the top 4 of the Club Championship no less than 15 times, a record that reflects success across all four grades.
Season 1988/89 has been the only season to date that First Grade have claimed the R B Clark Cup when captain and former President Murray Pitt led them to victory. It wasn't until 1998/99 that Second Grade picked up their first premiership and they backed that up with victories in 2000/01, 2001/02 and 2003/04, the last two captained by Rex Wightley.
(left) Warringah's 3rd grade Semi Final total in 2008 remains a Shires record
Third Grade has also been very successful for Warringah with four premierships in 1987/88, 1991/92, 1997/98 and 2007/2008. Warringah has also won two Fourth Grade premierships in 1990/91 and 1996/97.
In 1987/88 season the Frank Gray competition was formed for players under 24 years of age and was appropriately won by Warringah in that season, their only one to date. Therefore after just 27 seasons in the competition Warringah have claimed 13 Premierships and 2 Club Championships to assert themselves as one of the strongest clubs in Shires cricket.
But their success on the field does not stop there. Although not a part of Club Championship points a Masters competition for players over the age of 40 also exists and as with all competitions Warringah has been one of the more successful clubs, claiming victories in 1999/2000 and 2001/02.
In 2001, Warringah also became the first ever team from Sydney to compete in the Willowfest Australian club tournament in Mildura and came away with victory in the A Grade competition and $2000 prize money.
More success is predicted for Warringah in 2008/09.
Today the year is 2009 and in their 32nd season in the Sydney Shires competition - Warringah are thriving. On the field they have four of the strongest teams with some of the most talented and respected players in the competition. Off the field they combine as a unit to work, train and socialise together in a way that no other club can.
32 years ago it was just a dream but now the mighty Green Men of Warringah stand tall as not just one of the most successful but one of the most spirited sporting clubs on the Northern Beaches.
by John MillwardContributors: Bruce Louden, Roy Formica.
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