Cricket

The early gold miners brought the game of cricket to Ophir, Lucknow and later Blackman's Swamp. From very rough beginnings in 1851, the game developed throughout the west, and Orange fielded a representative team to play matches against towns as far apart as Katoomba & Nevertire. Matches against the Far West towns involved overnight train travel and quite a few matches extended over five days, which always included quite a lot of pre match and after match hospitality!

The game developed in popularity and a local competition was developed between clubs in 1860 and games were played at Moulder's Paddock. On 29 April 1862, Cr. Evans moved a motion that application be made to the Government praying that a sufficient area of ground on the reserve at the South East corner of the township of Orange, be granted and set apart as a Cricket Ground. The motion was seconded by Cr Nicholls and at the Council meeting the motion was adopted and a letter sent by Chairman McKay on 4 August 1862.

This area was eventually named Wade Park in honour of Sir Charles Gregory Wade, former Judge of the Supreme Court, Attorney General, and Member of the Legislative Assembly and Minister for Justice. He was knighted in 1905.

Wade Park is still the headquarters of cricket in Orange today.
Another major cricket ground in Orange is Riawena Oval and within the W H G Trimmer Pavilion at this ground is housed an honour board recording all Office Bearers and Premier teams since the official start of the Orange District Cricket Association in 1911.

Competitions now exist in three senior grades, every junior age group from 8 years to 16 years, a night competition named after Orange's first Test cricketer George Bonnor, a twilight competition for social teams and inter-district competitions in both senior and junior grades under the auspices of the Mitchell Cricket Council.

Darrell Bruce Hair

1952 -

Test Cricket Umpire


A	B

Image Descriptions
A - Used by Darrell in his first Sheffield Shield match 1989.
B - Pocket and counter used by Darrell during a Test Match in Adelaide 1993.

Darrell Bruce Hair was born in Mudgee on 30 September 1952 and started his junior cricket at the age of 10 with Orange High School and the Police Citizens Youth Club. In 1965/1966 he represented in NSWPSAA Under 14 cricket and joined the Orange City Cricket Club. He went on to represent both Orange and Molong Associations in District Cricket.

Darrell performed well as an all rounder, winning his way into the Western Districts Colts team to tour New Zealand in 1971. This team also contained a very young Peter Toohey who was to go on to test cricket a few years later.

In 1971 Darrell moved to Sydney and played two years of first and second grade with North Sydney, followed by eight years of first and second grade with Mosman.

In a career move in 1985, Darrell joined the New South Wales Cricket Umpire Association and commenced duties in Sydney lower grades. He received excellent reports in lower grades and was elevated to first grade in 1987/1988. The following year he made his debut as a Sheffield Shield umpire.

After two years in Sheffield Shield, he scored his first One Day International in December 1991 when appointed to the match between India and the West Indies at The Adelaide Oval. One month later, in January 1992, he received his first Test appointment between Australia and England, also on The Adelaide Oval.

In 1994 the ICC created the concept of an International Umpires' panel to appoint 'neutral country' umpires to test matches. Darrell was honoured in being the first Australian umpire to take part in this agreement when he umpired in Barbados in the West Indies.

Darrell has never been far away from controversy but in each case, it has been strictly by virtue of him insisting that the game be played according to the rules he is set down to administer.

In the Melbourne Test in December 1995 he no balled Sri Lankan spinner Muttiah Muralitharan for throwing and this caused world wide discussion and rather than backing their umpire, the world governing body changed the rules of the game to avoid confrontation. The ICC never backed Hair even though his interpretation of the law at that time was 100% correct.

Hair was again involved in controversy in August 2006 at the Oval in London when he insisted on changing a ball which had obviously been tampered with. The Pakistani team refused to continue the match and the umpires ended the test and awarded the result to England. This was the first time a test had been forfeited in over 1000 test matches in over a hundred years. The matter has not yet been resolved but regardless of the outcome, once again Hair did nothing but follow the rules he is given to work with.

Up until September 2006, Darrell has umpired 124 One Day Internationals, 76 tests, 40 Sheffield Shield matches and 22 State One Day matches.

George John Bonnor

1855-1912

Test Cricketer

George Bonnor was born at Bathurst on 22 February 1855 and moved to Orange in 1887, where he was employed by Wright Heaton and Co. He resided with his brother, James Bonnor, at Strathroy in East Orange.

Bonnor was lured to Sydney to join the Old Alberts in 1879, and he was selected from there to represent Australia, where he made his Test debut at The Oval in 1880 in the first official test played between Australia and England.

Bonnor was to play a total of 17 tests, including the famous test of 1884 which saw the creation of the 'Ashes'. In his 17 tests, George Bonnor scored 512 runs at an average of 17.06, and he took two wickets at 42.00 from his 16 overs and his highest score was 128.

Bonnor was known as 'The Colonial Hercules', standing 6'6" tall and weighing 16 stone. The famous Dr W G Grace once wrote 'he is of the grandest specimens of humanity that ever stepped onto a cricket field.'

Bonnor was a tremendous hitter of the ball and at Melbourne he recorded a hit of 160 yards. He also had a powerful throwing arm, and during the boat trip to England in 1882, a wager was made that he could not throw the ball 100 yards. On arrival at Plymouth, Bonnor threw the ball 119 yards without removing his coat.

Playing in the Orange cricket competition in 1890 Bonnor lifted a ball out of Wade Park, which cleared Peisley Street and landed in a coal train headed for Bourke, where the ball was subsequently recovered. Needless to say, many teams were deterred from coming to Orange when they knew Bonnor was playing. Bonnor died of a heart attack in Orange on 27 June 1912. His grave is located in the Orange Cemetery and was restored by the Orange District Cricket Association in 1973.

Peter Michael Toohey

1954 -

Test Cricketer

Peter Michael Toohey was born on 20 April 1954 and spent his early years on the family farm at Barry near Blayney. The Toohey family figured prominently in the Blayney Club side that played in the Orange competition. In the early days of his career Peter was greatly influenced by his father Alan and his uncle Brian Toohey, as all three were in the Orange representative teams in the Western Districts and Grinsted Cup cricket.

Between 1968 and 1971 Peter progressed through the various levels of country cricket. In 1971 he was selected for Western Districts to tour New Zealand. His brothers David and Mark were also selected in Western Districts Colts tours to New Zealand during the same period.

In 1972 Peter moved to Sydney to play with Western Suburbs under the then Australian Captain Bob Simpson. In his second season in Sydney he made the State squad and in the 1974 - 1975 season he won selection in the Sheffield Shield Team. In his first 50 innings for New South Wales he scored six centuries and earned his first test cap at the age of 23 in 1977, making his debut against India at Brisbane.

Peter Toohey played in all five tests against India and then toured the West Indies where he suffered a broken thumb in the first test, causing him to miss the next two tests. He cam back strongly in the fourth test and in the fifth test at Kinston, Jamaica he turned in scores of 122 and 97.

Peter played in all five tests against England in 1978 and one in 1979 and a further test against the West Indies in 1979, to finish with a test record of 15 matches for 893 runs at an average of 31.89 and a total of 9 catches. Peter also featured in three Century Partnerships, two with Graham Yallop and one with Bob Simpson. He represented New South Wales in 64 shield matches to score 4038 runs and take 42 catches. He retired in 1981 and become a state selector for several seasons.

Jean Horner (nee Williams)

1916 - 2005

Australian Women's Cricket XI

Image Descriptions:
A - Australian Women's Cricket Association 1939-1940.

Jean Horner was born in Forbes on 1 September 1916 and spent her early years in Bedgerabong (40 minutes drive west of Forbes) before moving to Gilgandra. The youngest of a family of nine Jean learned her early cricket with her four brothers on a dirt pitch alongside the family home.

In 1934 Jean first drew the attention of cricket writers when she blasted up 119, which included 19 boundaries in a match against Dubbo. She followed this in 1935 with scores of 128 not out and 125 and 119, and then followed a mammoth score of 215 not out, which was then the highest score recorded by a female cricketer in Australia.

In 1936 at Bathurst Jean scored 99 not out in a team score of 154 and she started 1937 with a score of 124 not out, which included 88 runs in boundaries. At this time she was selected for New South Wales and was freely tipped for the Australian team for the tour of England in 1938. However this was not to be and she was relegated to captain of the New South Wales Second IX for the 1939 season. Jean continued to turn in impressive performances in Sydney Grade cricket. In 1941, playing for Vice-Regals Jean scored 96, retired and took six for thirteen and followed up with another century in the following match.

Referred to by the locals as Gilgandra's 'Lady Bradman', Jean played for New South Wales between 1936 and 1948. Her outstanding record during this period earned her selection in the Australian team to play the touring England side in 1940. Unfortunately the tour had to be cancelled because of World War II and the team became known as the 'ghost team'. It was poor consolation that they were permitted to have the A W C C XI embroidered on their blazers.

In the Interstate series in 1940 Jean scored 149 in the opening match and in this innings her 100 came up in just 117 minutes with 20 boundaries. This performance forced the Australian selectors to choose her for the three test series against England.

Jean moved to Orange in 1942 and attempted to start women's cricket, and played with Orange Overlanders for several matches. Her form was still good enough to earn her a place in the New South Wales Team in 1947 to play the touring New Zealand women's team. Jean Horner retired from cricket in 1948.

Due to failing health in 2003, Jean moved from Orange to be near her family at Condobolin where she passed away on 4th March 2005 at the age of 88.

Jack Moroney

1917 - 1999

Test Cricketer

Jack Moroney was born at Macksville on 24 July 1917 and even though his representative cricket was played prior to his moving to Orange, his contribution to Orange Cricket was enormous. Jack played a total of 23 Sheffield Shield matches for New South Wales, scoring 1935 runs at an average of 49.62. His first class matches for New South Wales totalled 36 for an aggregate of 2419 and an average of 51.46.

Jack was selected for the Australian tour of South Africa in 1949 and in a test at Johannesburg he scored a century in each innings. To this day he is the only Australian to score a century in each innings against South Africa. In addition to the five Tests in South Africa, Jack played one Test against England, one against the West Indies, and finished with a Test record of seven matches for 383 runs at an average of 34.81.

Jack moved to Orange in 1958 and in his first full season topped the batting aggregate and average and repeated his performance every cricket season until he left Orange in 1966. In his nine seasons in Orange he scored at least one century in every season and in 1959-1960 he scored an aggregate of 1183 at an average of 73.9, which remains an Orange District Cricket Association record. His score of 240 not out is also the highest individual score in first grade Orange Cricket.

He joined the executive of the Orange District Cricket Association in 1958 and was also on the selection panel. He remained in these positions throughout his career in Orange. Jack represented Orange on many occasions and in one Grinstead Cup match against Grenfell in 1964, Jack and Geoff Pratten scored 235 for the first wicket - 125 runs to Maroney and 112 to Pratten.

Jack Moroney instigated the first schoolboys' competition in 1959. In 1975 he was elected a life member to the Orange District Cricket Association for his services to Orange cricket.

Joanne (Jo) Kathleen Garey

1974 -

Test Cricketer


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Image Descriptions A & B - Australian Test Cricket Hats.

Joanne Kathleen Garey was born in Sydney on 1 May 1974 and attended primary and secondary school at Kinross Wolaroi in Orange. During her early school days she excelled at a variety of sports including tennis, hockey and cricket. It was obvious to anyone with knowledge of ball sports that here was a young lady with above average ability who was destined for higher honours.

Jo represented her school and the Orange District at junior and senior hockey; she also represented Sydney University at hockey. However it was her love of cricket that was to see her, from the age of 11, playing in the junior boys competition on Saturday mornings. Jo also played with the Orange City Club in the senior women's cricket competition.

Jo played her first senior tournament at the age of 12 with Orange at the John Knight Carnival in Canberra in 1986. She continued to represent Orange at John Knight Carnivals and New South Wales Country Championships through until 1995, even though she was playing First Grade in Sydney with Berala since 1989.

Jo gained her first State selection as a member of the Under 18 team in 1988 when she was only 14 years old. She retained her place in this team for four years and was then elevated to the State under 21s team in 1993. After one year she forced her way into the New South Wales Open team and she was named vice-captain of the Opens in 1994.

In 1991 Jo was selected in the Australian Under 21 squad and was also named in the Australian Under 25 team to tour India in 1992. Unfortunately this tour was cancelled due to political unrest and it was two more years before she was able to represent her country in the Under 23 team to tour New Zealand.

On the New Zealand tour, Jo played in three 1-day matches and one test and this was followed by her selection in the Australian Under 23 team to tour India. This time the tour proceeded and Jo played in five 1-day matches and one test.

Her ultimate dream came true in January 1995 when she was selected in the Australian Women's Open team to tour New Zealand. She played three 1-day matches and one test.

Stephen Russell Bernard

1949 -

Test Cricket Selector and Manager

Stephen Russell Bernard was born in Orange and took an early interest in Cricket with social matches on the old concrete pitch that was housed where the Orange TAFE building now stands. He attended the Orange Rural School and helped establish the 'Kangaroos' junior team, so that he could play junior cricket on Saturday mornings.

At Orange High School his career started to blossom and he was soon playing B Grade with the Methodist Club, before advancing to First Grade with Pinnacle Road for two seasons, Rovers for a season and then with Orange City from 1965 to 1970.

In 1969 he toured New Zealand with the Western Districts Colts and then moved to Sydney where he played first grade with Northern Districts from 1970 until 1979. He then joined St George as coach and played with Saints from 1979 to 1985.

In 1970 Stephen was selected for New South Wales and played 34 Sheffield Shield matches between 1970 - 1975 and 1978 - 1979. In 1982 and 1985 he played cricket in Scotland and he toured twice with the Australian Old Collegians to South Africa, West Indies and the UK in 1974 and again to the UK in 1978.

Stephen became a New South Wales Selector in 1983 and rose to Chairman of the selectors in 1989, a position he retained until 1995. In 1987 he managed the New South Wales team to Zimbabwe, was coach of the Australian Youth Team to the West Indies in 1990 and coach of the Australian Under 19 team to the UK in 1991. He also managed the Australian's 7s to Hong Kong in 1994.

In 1993 Stephen was elevated to the role of an Australian test cricket selector. He also became permanent manager of the Australian Test and One Day International team, and remains in that position.

On Australia Day in 2010, Stephen was honoured for his contribution to cricket as a player, coach, selector and manager by being awarded the Medal in the Order of Australia (OAM).