THEY call them the golden years of Hawkesbury cricket, and feel it is about time for a reunion for everyone involved with the game in the district between 1965-1985.
Peter O’Donnell and Ian Johnston had long time associations with the Hawkesbury District Cricket Association, and are among of group of former players and officials organising a reunion for April 7.
They have about 150 past members already confirmed and are hoping for plenty more – the Windsor Function Centre can hold 400 people said O’Donnell.
They’ve organised for Doug Walters to be the guest speaker at the event. Walters played some games in the Hawkesbury against the Jack Chegwyn representative team.
They are also very keen for any kind of memorabilia, from any era, that people may have tucked away at home to be put on display.
“Anything that is related to cricket. Old bats, hats, photos, hat-trick balls,” said O’Donnell.
O’Donnell produced his Jack Chegwyn bat – awarded alongside the Jack Chegwyn medal for being the most promising junior in the district in 1971 – while Johnston produced an old wooden over counter – it was his father’s and is so old it was used when they still had eight ball overs.
O’Donnell said Hawkesbury district cricket used to be quite a high standard, before Hawkesbury Cricket Club came into existence, and many of the talented players started playing Sydney Grade Cricket.
He said 1965-1985 was called a golden era for a reason.
Ian Johnston said he had many memories of his days as both a player and an umpire.
He was an umpire from 1964 to 2000 and played with Pitt Town Cricket Club for his entire career.
“I played for Pitt Town all my life. I was a one club man and still am,” he said.
He said people took cricket very seriously when he used to play and umpire.
“Everything was serious back in those days,’ he said.
“However, you used to leave it all on the field at the end of the day and have a beer with your opponents after the game.
“That I think was the major difference between cricket today and then. There was none of this reporting it to the judiciary. You came off together and you had a beer together.”
Johnston said he hoped many old players and officials would join him and reminisces about happy memories.
“Everyone will have a name tag. People probably won’t recognise each other now after such a long time, but they will remember the name,” he said.
At the reunion, there will be a vote for the best Hawkesbury team from 1965-85. A shortlist of 25 players will be created and people who attend will vote on who they think was the best.
Contact Peter O’Donnell (45765623) or Ian Johnston (0416171036) for more information about the reunion.
Tickets must be purchased by visiting https://hawkesburygoldenyears.eventbrite.com.au and cost $49.
