When Craigieburn Cricket Club started 40 years ago, the town was a much different place.
It was more a village at the time, with housing developments having begun only 10 to 12 years beforehand.
But there was enough interest to start a cricket team.
There had been at least two earlier Craigieburn clubs: one around 1914-15, the other in the 1950s, both of them made up mostly of local farmers. And both had disbanded.
Next month, February 18, the club will celebrate its 40th season with a reunion at its premises. All past players, supporters and committee members are being invited to attend, with the club hoping to get as many people as possible returning.
President Gerard Laffan, who joined the club in its third season, says it’s a lot different from the early days. “There weren’t any clubrooms so all the functions were held in people’s back- yards. It was a great place for people to meet in a reasonably new community.
“We played in the Gisborne association and our home ground was Victor Foster Reserve.”
The club expanded and DS Aitken Reserve became its main home ground when a turf wicket was laid. The club also moved to what is now known as the North West Metropolitan Cricket Association.
It still plays in that competition, but Craigieburn’s top sides joined the Victorian Turf Cricket Association to keep the players from going elsewhere.
Laffan said the club’s only first XI premiership in 2012-13 and its first women’s title the following season were the standout moments.
Developing the club to provide pathways for players to compete at a higher level was something else they were proud of. “In the past 15 years we’ve had at least 15 players go on and play Premier Cricket and at least 10 have played sub-district. There’s so much diversity here and kids have the opportunity to play on the MCG or at Etihad Stadium.”
Laffan sees many opportunities for further growth. For a start, DS Aitken Reserve is being upgraded and Foster Oval is set to get a turf wicket. He says that, on field, they want to move up through the grades of VTCA while increasing the number of sides.
“We want to continue to develop the players and we’d love to get a girls’ cricket side up and going; that’s a big focus of the club.”
For more details about the reunion, contact Gary on 0419 557 704 or gary.dennis@dhl.com or Gerard on craigieburncc@gmail.com
RSVP for the event by February 5.
