5 or more wickets in first 1st Grade game for Gordon District Cricket Club
Gordon District Cricket Club | May 04, 2026
Since the Gordon District Cricket Club came into existence in 1905, there have been 635 people who have played 1st Grade. Of those, only 11 have taken 5 (or more) wickets in their first game. These are those players.
Keith McPhillamy played only three 1st Grade games. In his first game (3/3/1906), on the Sydney Cricket Ground against Middle Harbour (Manly) he took 5-47.
Lee Scott played the two seasons before World War 1. His 8-72 in his first game (27/9/1913) remains the best bowling performance by a Gordon player in his first 1st Grade game. Enlisting in 1916, he received the Military Cross. After the war he was injured playing football and never played Grade cricket again.
Percy Dive played Grade cricket for many years for Glebe, Burwood, Gordon and Western Suburbs and one game for NSW. In his two spells with Gordon (a total of six years) he took 224 wickets while for all clubs he took 457 wickets. In his first game for Gordon he snared 5-43 against North Sydney (2/10/1915).
Edgar Bell only played half of the 1944-45 season with the club, having come up from Melbourne after being recommended by Bert Oldfield. He took 6-47 vs Western Suburbs (13/1/1945) but didn’t play Grade cricket again.
Reg Giddey was a great stalwart of the club, taking 452 wickets in 1st Grade. In his first 1st Grade game against North Sydney (26/10/1946) he took 6-88 and he continued to do well in the top grade until 1959-60, taking over 30 wickets in a season 10 times.
Ian Heydon only played two seasons of Grade cricket. An opening bowler, in his first 1st Grade game he took 5-58 against Petersham (22/10/1949).
The first game of John Cosgrove (pictured) against Mosman at the beginning of the 1965-66 season (25/9/65-2/10/1965) was memorable. After taking 2-12 in the first innings, John ripped through the side in the second, taking 6-17. Interestingly, he bowled former Australian captain Ian Craig for 0 in both innings. After a back injury curtailed his bowling career, he became a most successful aggressive opening batsman, forming a formidable pairing with Marshall Rosen for a number of years.
John Todd played for North Sydney for seven seasons before coming to Gordon for a further eleven. A clever leg spin bowler, he took 375 1st Grade wickets including 5-78 against Sydney University in his first game (30/11/1968). He often shared the spin bowling with another leggie, Dick Guy – a most uncommon pairing.
Craig Peifer was a highly talented sportsman who had the ability to bowl very fast on his day. His first 1st Grade game (23/11/1974) was on a ‘sporty’ wicket at Pratten Park. After Gordon struggled to 183, Craig and Phill Antman opened the bowling and were the only bowlers required. Phill bowled downwind and Craig bowled up into it. He was very quick and had all batsmen ducking and weaving, finishing with 6-30! Wests were rolled for 83 in quick time. A few months later, Craig spearheaded the Poidevin-Gray team to the premiership with a devastating spell. He had another season or so in 1st Grade but never reached those heights again.
Andrew Hunter was another talented cricketer. After coming up from Melbourne, Andrew played a season in the Gordon Junior Association where he took a massive number of wickets. He went to the Gordon senior club and was graded in 2nds. After taking 16 wickets in 5 games, he was promoted and took 6-31 in his first game (28/11/1981). He went on to finish with 51 wickets in 1sts at 14.02 for the season (67 wickets in all grades!). He only played two more seasons of Grade cricket before a knee injury finished his serious cricket career.
Peter Langley came down from Queensland and played several games in 1st Grade before dropping down to 2nds and performing particularly well, including taking a hat trick. His 5-40 (29/9/1984) in his first 1st Grade game was a top performance.
