WHAT A CRACKER 1996-97. Penrith Cricket Club
Penrith Cricket Club | April 23, 2026
A magnificent season’ Ray Hudswell wrote in what was to be his last President’s report.
The Club’s achievements in the season 1996/97 included:
- Fifth Grade Premiers
- AW Green Shield Premiers
- Second in the Club Championship
- Poidevin-Gray Runners up
- Sydney Morning Herald Team of the Year
- Third Grade Women’s finalists
- Sixth Grade (Colts) finalists
- First Grade semi-finalists
- Lower Grade Groundsman of the Year (Ian Greggs, for the third successive season)
Representative honours went to Liam Zammit and Shane Stanton in the NSW Under 17s, with Liam making the Australian Under 17s Merit Team. Michael Goldsmith was selected in the NSW Under 19s, Stuart Karppinen and Paul Maraziotis in the NSW 2 nd XI and Darren Reeves in the NSW Colts. Trevor Bayliss and Steve Nikitaras were selected in the NSW Mercantile Mutual Cup team, while Steve and Jason Arnberger represented NSW at Sheffield Shield level. Stuart Karppinen and Darren Reeves gained selection to the Cricket Academy in Adelaide. Ray Hudswell’s leadership was instrumental in helping to build the Club in this outstanding season, setting it on the path towards more success. Ray passed the baton to Ron Halse, who had captained Fifth Grade to a Premiership and coached the AW Green Shield team to the Club’s first-ever shield.
First Grade (4th – 62.8 pts)
First Grade were semi-finalists for the second season in a row. The team’s batting and bowling were equal to any in the competition and, coupled with some outstanding individual performances, it assured future success. But, according to captain Trevor Bayliss, this success could be achieved only if fielding improved.
Paul Thomas became the leading wicket-taker in Sydney grade cricket for the second time in three years. Dale Turner’s batting performance was exceptional as he appeared in six ‘highest wicket’ partnerships for the season, holding together the middle and lower order. Paul Goldsmith was our most consistent pace bowler for much of the season.
Second Grade (13th – 34 pts)
It was a disappointing season for Second Grade, which – in the words of skipper Greg Douglas – ‘lost ground’. In the 15 matches played, only five wins were recorded, and of the 10 losses, four were outright. But it wasn’t all doom and gloom, as our visiting Scot, Craig Wright (42 wickets), teamed up with Michael Goldsmith (27 wickets) to create the best opening attack in the competition. Simon Bird had an excellent season behind the stumps with 24 catches and five stumpings.
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Third Grade (7 th – 49 pts)
Thirds started the season well with three wins on the trot, but round 4 saw a loss, followed by two wash-outs and then two more losses. After this, inconsistency set in, and the team needed results to go their way to make the semi-finals. It was not to be, and Thirds finished two points out of the six.
Fourth Grade (11th – 36 pts)
Fourth Grade were semi-final contenders until Round 12, but then lost a couple of crucial games, partly because of poor batting and/or bad weather.
Fifth Grade (Equal 1st – 70 pts)- Premiers
The Fifth Grade team won the Club’s first-ever Fifth Grade Premiership, defeating a very experienced UNSW team in the Final. The team lost only two matches during the season. The team consisted of most of the AW Green Shield squad, plus two senior cricketers in Ron Halse and Rod Evans. In a sign of things to come, six players from this squad would go on to represent the Club at First Grade level, two of them becoming First Grade captains.
Sixth Grade – Colts
After a year off, the Club once again fielded a Sixth Grade team and with great success, reaching the Final only to be beaten by Erskine Park Rangers.
Poidevin-Gray Shield
Coached by Peter Savage and captained by Darren Reeves, the PGs had a great campaign, suffering only two losses. Unfortunately, both of these were to Sydney University, the first in Round 2 and the second in the Final. Nevertheless, it was a strong performance from a young team, nine of whom would be eligible for PGs the following season.
AW Green Shield – Premiers
Living up to expectations, this team matched the feats of the Fifth Grade team and created history by winning our first-ever AW Green Shield competition. Captained by Matthew Halse, coached by Ron Halse and managed by Rod Evans, this was a team of talented young cricketers who enjoyed each other’s successes as much as they enjoyed their own. They lost only one game, their first, to Parramatta, whom they would go on to defeat comprehensively in the Final.
