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A Keystone Match in the history of Parramatta District Cricket Club

Parramatta District Cricket Club | May 07, 2026

In many ways the most seminal milestone in the Club’s history occurred in 1843 - the first officially confirmed and published account and scoresheet of a Parramatta District Cricket Club match.

Though it is known that the Parramatta Club had engaged in earlier unreported contests or those mentioned in newspapers didn’t supply match score details – e.g. Jas Scott Early Cricket in Sydney p75 “the Liverpool and Parramatta Clubs met during the last week of March 1840 the former winning’’ - the 1843 match against the Liverpool Cricket Club authenticated the existence of the club and is generally acknowledged as the genesis of the Parramatta Club. Although it is not specified in the match report, it is highly likely that the venue was Harris’ Meadow.

Features of the wider Parramatta historical landscape in 1843 were, the publication of the town’s first Newspaper the Parramatta Chronicle by Edmund Mason, the District Council was established under warden Gilbert Elliot, the Rose and Crown Hotel (which still stands today and ironically was a proud sponsor of the club in season 2019/20) was built in North Parramatta by Robert Green, and Hannibal Hawkins Macarthur was the first elected representative for Parramatta on the new NSW Legislative Council.

The book Early Cricket in Sydney by Jas Scott p 101 (originally reported in the Commercial Journal newspaper) provides the following account of this landmark cricket match:

“The Clubs at Parramatta and Liverpool, which were known in Sydney as the country clubs, took the lead in the season 1843-44.

They met at Parramatta on Monday, September 11, 1843.

The local team won by 35 runs, but Liverpool complained of unfair play by the winners, who acted in opposition to the decisions of their own chosen umpire. It was stated that, in the return match, competent umpires, who would not allow their decisions to be revoked by the players would be secured”.

The competitiveness of these early contests can be gauged by Parramatta’s reluctance to accepting the Umpires’ decisions and Liverpool feeling aggrieved by this unsportsmanlike attitude.

It didn’t take long for a return match to be staged between Parramatta and Liverpool, the much anticipated fixture taking place at Liverpool on Monday, 9^th October 1843.

This match passed without the angst of the proceeding contest and no report was made of Parramatta’s impertinence to umpiring decisions. Liverpool completely dominated the game, with the Parramatta men declining to play the second innings of Liverpool, leaving them the victors on the first innings.