Players of Note in the Shadows (Part 2)
Gordon District Cricket Club | May 07, 2025
Period 1950s - 2020s
The 1950s welcomed the arrival of two cricketers, Dick Guy and Brian Taber, who were to have a dominant impact on Gordon cricket. Both were one club men, true Gordon players who gave much to the club both on and off the field. Both played for New South Wales, Taber also for Australia, and both were selectors at state and national level, for Australian senior and youth teams. Both always had time for young players. They had learnt from outstanding players from earlier days, Guy from Charlie Macartney and Taber from Oldfield. Whilst seven Gordon cricketers have had books penned by them or about them, Taber is the only player from the club to have a book solely about him and his time at Gordon.
The 1970s saw five cricketers make a mark at the club, and ultimately play for New South Wales, with two, Ian Davis and Trevor Chappell, going on to play for Australia. During his time at the club Davis added much to the batting and along with Trevor Chappell saw a platform develop that had the club grow on the field in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Trevor was to contribute much to women’s and men’s cricket over the ensuring 30 years at Gordon as a coach.
Marshall Rosen, a one-time scoreboard attendant, played for 15 seasons, retiring early to concentrate on his business career as a quality builder. Having played for New South Wales he was well qualified to be a state selector, which he did for many years. Mark O’Neill, who had played for Western Australia, then New South Wales, set a few records at the club with a batting style that has seen him in demand around the world as a batting coach.
Fast bowlers Richard Stobo and Matt Nicholson have set benchmarks to which we all aspire. As first-class players they plied their craft but more importantly brought their experiences back to the club ensuring that those within the club could learn what had been passed on to them in their careers. Nicholson is still involved with the club as a fast bowling coach whilst Stobo is always willing to pass on advice when asked.
The club has had three Test wicketkeepers. Phil Emery, another loyal clubman and outstanding NSW captain, has certainly left his mark on the club. There was his leadership, wicketkeeping, batting and most noticeably his ability to bring together players from different occupations and skill sets to become members of Gordon premiership teams. We should not forget Adam Gilchrist, who learnt his early cricket at Gordon before moving to Western Australia and becoming a wonderful batsman and wicketkeeper for Australia.
There have been many other players and officials who have performed in the shadows of the Trumper Pavilion. Whilst not exhaustive, they include scorers David Evans and Andy Falk, players and loyal clubmen who would do almost anything for the club Basil Sheidow, Michael Falk, Paul Stephenson, Geoff Hickman, Ed Howitt Snr, Ed Howitt Jnr, Mark Carmichael, and in earlier days Graham King and Keith McDonald, amongst many servants of the game.
The new century produced new stars at the club. Over 14 seasons from 2000 James Packman scored 6705 runs in First Grade at 28.78 elevating him to third on the batting records while Damon Livermore occupies the same position for runs in all grades during his 25 seasons from 1992. A semifinal appearance in 200405 was a great improvement led by all-rounder Ed Zelma, while Matt Nicholson was on state duties, along with punishing left-hander Craig Simmons who, with 864 runs in 2006-07, broke Charlie Macartney’s record established in 1914-15 then increased it the next season to 978 runs at 43.55. The pace bowling of Dylan Connell (294 wickets in 2000-11) and Julian Stephenson led the way followed by the leg spin of Beau Casson (feature image), future Test spinner, and Brendan McDonald.
The club almost made it in 2007-08 playing in the grand final at Bankstown Oval only to be narrowly defeated by St George and a decade high position of third in the Club Championship the next season was an improvement. It was the last season for Matt Nicholson with 228 wickets at 17.58 but the first for top order batsmen Cameron Eccles, Harry Evans and Steve Colley. These three would go on to anchor the First Grade team until 2019-20 scoring 4377, 5503 and 5968 runs respectively with Reece Bombas not far behind with 3825 runs.
The new decade brought new faces Elliot Richtor, Dan Smith, Chad Soper, James Kennedy and keeper Iain Beverley plus English import Josh Poysden. In a highly competitive competition Gordon could not consistently win enough to move into the top half of the main competition although had some success in the T20 format. By 2015-16 Charles Stobo took 44 wickets at 20.02 which won him the O’Reilly Medal. Topping that the next season another English player Mason Crane took an outstanding 51 wickets, enough to force his way into the NSW team, help First Grade to second in the competition and share the O’Reilly Medal with Elliot Richtor (787 runs at 37.48).
After his first century the previous season Axel Cahlin topped the batting in 2017-18 with a club record 971 runs at 51.11 closely followed by Tym Crawford (795) and Harry Evans (785). Another English import leg spinner Matt Parkinson took 31 wickets with fellow left-arm spinner Matt Junk a close second with 30 helping the team into fifth position.
The 2019-20 season saw the club win the Spirit of Cricket Award for the third time and Tym Crawford first in the club batting aggregate with 750 runs at 35.71 as well as captain for the first season. He has built on this to win the batting aggregate for 2023-24 of 1303 runs which was the most runs scored by any player in Premier Cricket throughout Australia. He won the O’Reilly Medal and was named First Grade captain of the year. The team reached the grand final of the T20 competition and the finals of the Limited Overs and Belvidere Cup competitions.
The days ahead for the Gordon DCC are promising with young players performing throughout the club. Much is expected of the Gordon DCC, which over the past century has contributed much to cricket locally, for New South Wales and beyond.
RONALD CARDWELL and JAMES CATTLIN
© The Cricket Press Pty Ltd and RL Cardwell and J Cattlin
