Penrith Cricket Club's first Women's teams: malthoid, mats and misses

Penrith Cricket Club | January 29, 2026

At the start of the 1980s, Penrith Cricket Club hosted matches between men and women at Howell Oval with the aim of promoting women’s cricket.

In season 1986/87, a little bit of history was made when the Club fielded a team in the Sydney Women’s Cricket Association competition for the first time. Competing in Second Grade, the team faced a stiff challenge. Most of the players had come from indoor cricket, which surged in popularity in the 1980s, but few had played outdoor cricket before. They were a dedicated group, however, moulded by the tireless work of Kim Dolton on and off the field and often inspired by Bonnie Paniora’s up-front leadership.

Remembering the early days, Kim reflected, ‘I thought we had a good batting and bowling line-up; we just didn’t quite win as many games as we thought we were going to. We only won one match. We had the skills, but we had to adapt from indoor. There was not a great deal of coaching for us, and, quite frankly we couldn’t do much training. Most of us had jobs in the city. Our training was indoors, sometimes a single net at Howell Oval, one situated next to the curator’s shed. Even though we were getting flogged, nobody wanted to drop out. As time went on, we would lose players because we were not in the First Grade. Our best players were snapped up’.

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The team’s main home ground was Weir Reserve, near the Nepean Rowing Club, where the pitch was malthoid (tar). ‘On a hot day, there were trees to sit under, but the tar would melt and stick to the ball’, Kim Dolton remembered. Matches were also played at Monfarville on green coir matting, sometimes on concrete at Cranebrook, and elsewhere on astroturf. Kim recalled, ‘In that first season, the only turf pitch we played on was The Square at Sydney Uni. We had to umpire our own games, although in later years, when we made the Finals, we did have official umpires’.

The Club embraced its Women’s team, according to Kim. ‘We were well received at Howell and used to go back there after our home matches for a drink and to socialise. If we were playing away, then we’d go to a nearby pub’.

In its first and second seasons (1986/87 and 1987/88), playing Second Grade, the team finished last. Regraded to Thirds in 1988/89, the team placed 3 rd and went on to win the Third Grade Premiership in 1989/90. The rough patches were ever-present, however. In 1988/89, Kim said in her report, ‘I am appealing to all players and members if they know of any likely new players to let me know as we urgently require them for the coming season’.

The team of 1986/87

Bonnie Paniora (captain), Jenny Webb, Elaine Thomas, Karen White, Kim Dolton, Kathy Matena, Alison Schaefer, Jackie Dyson, Jackie Brown, Mel Walters, Laura Foglia, Wendy George, Maria Dyson, Jo-Anne Malone and Maree Rennie

Highlights of 1986/87

• First win: Uni NSW (Penrith 187, White 73, Schaefer 22, Dolton 20; Uni NSW 141, Paniora 4/25, Dolton 3/28, J Dyson 1/28)
• First century: Kathy Matena 122* v YWCA
• First 50: Karen White 73 v Uni NSW
• First five-wicket haul: Bonnie Paniora 5/8 v Uni NSW
• First century partnership: Kim Dolton and Kathy Matena, 100 in 75 minutes v YWCA
• Kathy Matena (three innings) scored 135 runs @ 67.50
• Bonnie Paniora scored 222 runs @ 18.50, including 50 v Randwick; took 18 wickets @ 13.27
• Karen White scored 176 runs @ 19.55, including 57 v Campbelltown
• Elaine Thomas took 23 wickets @ 15.91

Numbers of 1986/87

• Runs for: 1686
• Wickets lost 142
• Average 11.87
• Runs against: 1835
• Wickets taken 83
• Average 22.10

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