Michael Falk reflects on Playing at Chatswood Oval

Gordon District Cricket Club | November 30, 2025

Michael Falk has had a lifelong cricket association with the Gordon DCC. He played First Grade, opening the batting for a period, and scored 3263 runs at 21.47 in all grades. He has served on the committee of the club and is a regular at Gordon matches. He holds a record that will take some beating. He played First Grade for the club in 1969 and has played in every decade to date with the senior club.

I always loved playing at Chatswood Oval, except right at the beginning of the season when the rugby season had left much of the ground resembling a very large bunker. Once the grass ‘returned’ it was a pleasure to play there. The surrounds were always very pleasant, dominated by the grand old Trumper Pavilion, the railway line and plenty of trees.

I first played at Chatswood in the 1967-68 season in Green Shield. My debut First Grade game was at Chatswood in the 1972-73 season against Mosman. Many more games there followed plus many enjoyable hours spent in the Trumper Pavilion having a quiet beer and a chat with teammates, opposition players and supporters.

I even painted the inside of the pavilion once! Back in the early 1970s the interior was looking a bit shabby, so I volunteered to paint it during a university break. It took longer than I thought but after it was finished, it looked pretty good. Unfortunately, during the next football season, the Rugby Club obviously didn’t like the colour, and they completely repainted it, so my efforts lasted about three months!

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