100 Moments of 100 years of St George First Grade Cricket 1941-42 to 1950-51

St George Cricket Club | June 25, 2025

Here is Part 8 of our 10 part series were we explore the decade mainly covering the 40's featuring 100 significant moments in 100 years of St George DCC First Grade cricket. With thanks to one of our trusty club historians Nathan Anderson.

1. Harold Stapleton completes a remarkable all-round season, scoring 479 runs, taking 19 wickets and securing 22 catches. (1941-42)

2. Bill O’Reilly takes more than 100 wickets in consecutive seasons. 108 at 9 and 109 at 8.6 in the 1941-42 and 1942-43 seasons respectively.

3. Across three consecutive seasons, Ross Longbottom secures over 50 wickets. His 70 wickets in 1942-43, 68 in 1943-44, and 56 in 1944-45 are second only to his contemporary Bill O’Reilly.

4. Billy O’Reilly takes a record-breaking 147 wickets at 8.29 in the 1943-44 season. O’Reilly takes 17 five wicket hauls throughout the season, with best figures of 8 for 49 against Mosman. The record remains as the highest haul in a grade cricket season. (1943-44)

5. The club wins its fifth successive club championship, but loses a “thrilling” final against Marrickville in which the match was “alive until the last ball” in the presence of 8,000 spectators. (1943-44)

6. Jack Giffen, a newly-promoted young player, compiles 817 runs in a season. (1943-44)

7. T Klose and Jack Giffen create a record partnership for the first wicket, compiling 228 runs against Waverley. Klose, an interstate player from South Australia is stationed in Sydney during the war. (1943-44)

8. R Cristofani represents Australia in the ‘Victory Tests’ against England following the end of the Second World War. He secures match figures for 9 for 92 at Lords and scores an unbeaten century (110*) at Old Trafford. (1945-46)

9. Arthur Morris and Ray Lindwall are both selected for their Test debuts in the first Ashes series in Australia since the war. In the fourth Test, Morris scores a century in both innings. Both men later contribute greatly to the ‘Invincibles’ tour of 1948, with Lindwall gaining a reputation as one of the great fast bowlers of the era. (1946-47)

10. Bill O’Reilly announces his retirement. He finishes his playing time with the club with a record-breaking 766 wickets in first grade. A record which remains intact and will likely not be beaten. (1946-47)     

Bob Cristofan, Ray Lindwall and Arthur Morris

(Title picture - Bill O'Reilly, Harold Stapleton and Ross Longbottom)

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