St George cricket club raises the bat to mark a century of success
The St George cricket club runs so deep that Test players cannot be considered walk-up starts to make their team of the century
Don’t worry about the Twenty20 World Cup, the bigger question is should Josh Hazlewood be standing side-by-side with Lindwall and Bradman?
As the famous St George cricket club marks its 100-year anniversary today (Saturday) as a Sydney first grade team, their success is surely best defined by the fact the ‘team of the century’ they named 10 years ago is already out of date.
It’s not just Hazlewood who must now walk straight into St George’s best all-time XI, but Trent Copeland and Moises Henriques might be jostling for a place as well, with Kurtis Patterson perhaps only a Test recall away from pushing his case too.
Entering the premier cricket competition the same year their namesakes the Dragons entered the NSW rugby league, St George stands tall as almost without challenger, the greatest of Australia’s 87 first grade clubs.
The iconic St George rugby league has 15 premierships over 100 years, but St George cricket trumps them with 17 – as well as 24 club championships.
When Cricket Australia named the Australian team of the century in 2000, St George boasted four names in that immortal list of 12, in Sir Donald Bradman, Ray Lindwall, Arthur Morris and Bill O’Reilly.
No other club in Australia had more than one player chosen.
Copeland, who along with Hazlewood and Bradman – arrived at St George from the bush, was feeling pretty good about himself one year when his 60 wickets in a season put him up on the club’s honour board at Hurstville Oval.
That was until Copeland gazed up the list he just joined to see Tiger O’Reilly’s name at the top with 145 wickets in a season.
“With average of about 6. And I’m like, ‘ok yep. So I’ve had a decent season but let’s keep this in perspective about just how big this club is,” Copeland told News Corp.
“The thing that sticks out is the success.
“Josh Hazlewood is going to be one of the best Test bowlers we’ve ever had. He’s going to make a grade team of the century, even one as good as the one we already have.
“I’m so appreciative of the platform the club has given me. The people I’ve met along the way have shaped the person that I am. I feel very lucky.”
Although born in Portugal, Henriques is St George down to his bootlaces – raised in Peakhurst and debuting for St George as a 16-year-old prodigy.
Former Test spinner and Fox Cricket star Kerry O’Keeffe is another man who is St George to his core, hailing from Carlton.
Patterson too is a local junior from Lugarno and today the new breed of St George first graders will follow in their footsteps and take the field at Hurstville Oval against Parramatta.
It’s a fitting match-up for the 100 year anniversary, given St George faced Central Cumberland (who became Parramatta) way back on October 1, 1921.
HOW ST GEORGE TEAM OF CENTURY MIGHT LOOK NOW
Arthur Morris
Les Favell
Sir Donald Bradman
Norm O‘Neill
Brian Booth
Moises Henriques
Ray Lindwall
Nathan Pilon (WK)
Josh Hazlewood
Kerry O‘Keeffe
Bill O‘Reilly
12th Trent Copeland
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