THE FINALS - A-Res Grade v Hillgrove, 24th/25th March 1973

Armidale Waratahs (The Tahs) | April 04, 2026

Waratahs had lost one game for the season, the Final of the One Day competition when TAS surprised them on a wet day. The rest of the time, they won and they won handsomely. Hillgrove had played this match before, at this time of the season, against Waratahs … and had always lost.

Hillgrove had two future guns - Peter Schaefer and Gavin Morgan - who had been firing all season. Waratahs skipper, Ian Campbell (#212), had the pace of David Lynch (#249) and Peter Rigg (#201) - both capable top graders - and the varied spin of Bob Barwick (#234) and long experience of John Russell (#89), plus the accurate medium pace of Gary Holloway (#216). It looked like a close contest.

Hillgrove batted first and were run through in just ten overs of Russell’s lobs. Nothing to see here.

Waratahs lost two wickets early, including skipper Campbell for a duck but Cliff Schaefer (#246), reliable all year with more than 400 runs and Barwick - 330 runs - got them back on track but both left as part of three quick wickets, leaving them half out and less than halfway there. Bruce Mathieson (#250) then played one of the really high quality finals innings in any grade, holding things together and adding the winning runs with Ray Marshall (250a). Mathieson took Waratahs to a good lead and finished with red ink. 

Second time around, Hillgrove never really tried to set up the outright and were again flummoxed by Russell, who finished with ten for the match and the Beau Richardson Trophy for Waratahs Performance of the season. Lynch cleaned up the tail. Mathieson must have been perilously close himself.

Waratahs v Hillgrove - A-Res Grade, 24th/25th March 1973