HUNTER Valley historian Lindsay Wood has spent the past year compiling a history of the early cricketing days in the Singleton district prior to 1923.
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The self-confessed cricket tragic, who has expended countless seasons contributing to the game as a player, administrator and now umpire, has written 10 books on the history of cricket in region, mainly focusing on Maitland.
“I was a high school history teacher and I played cricket until I was 55,” Lindsay said.
“After I wrote the centenary of the Maitland District Cricket Association in 1994, writing all these stories became a labour of love.”
This latest Singleton project was a natural extension for him and he was aided by the Online Trove Archive of The Singleton Argus and the Maitland Mercury editions.
He also received support from Mick Akrill and the Singleton Historical Society and members of the public, who responded to a letter of his – which appeared in The Argus in October last year – that asked for assistance in his studies.
“Singleton’s always had strong cricket culture, even the district’s villages have managed to form teams and played games as early as 1847, although they were relatively late to form a senior association which came in 1923,” Lindsay said.
“They enjoyed a heyday period in 1870 when Percy Waddy lifted the town to the forefront of NSW country cricket.”
Lindsay said there was one dominant team in the Singleton district so they had to go abroad, often by horse, to find better competition.
It’s during this time period that Singleton played leading Sydney teams such as Carlton and had proved they could mix it with top class opposition in Maitland and Newcastle.
Some of the local characters to emerge from Lindsay’s research went on to greater honours such as Adam Mather from the 1880s, who played for NSW, and Ernest Waddy in the 1900s.
Representative players Percy Waddy, Roy Millard, Ray Fawcett, Joe McAlpin and Bill Cameron played with distinction against touring teams.
Charlie McGuire took 100 wickets in one season.
It was reported in The Argus in a match against Singleton Belvidere at Howe Park, he took all 10 wickets in the innings.
Another one of his feats was five scalps from five balls in a game against South Singleton (playing for St Patricks).
Bizarrely, Singleton may lay claim to the first ever bats vs broomsticks series in Australia when they were played a series in 1878, as the name suggests bats were replaced with large brooms.
The novelty game was brought back from England by Percy Waddy.
It wasn’t all light fun though as the runs from these games went to the batsman’s season average.
Notably, Singleton hosted professional English touring teams Shrewsbury and Shaw in 1885; they also played an all-Aboriginal side before they embarked on a tour of England in 1867.
The Early Cricketing Days in The Singleton District - The pre-association years to 1923 is available for purchase from the Burdekin Park Museum and the Singleton Bookshop Etc.
The book can also be purchased from Lindsay himself.
Contact him via email woodlr@bigpond.com
