Wheatons Touring Cricket Club 1950 - 1966
Historical Reflections (by Wally Miller in 2009)
Prior to the Trans-Tasman Vintage Cricket Carnival held in Armidale in March/April 2009,
Wally Miller, who played cricket with distinction for Armidale, New England and Wheatons’ Touring Team from 1950 to 1980 reflected to Kevin Pike on the good old days and annual tours with New England and Wheatons’ Touring Teams under the management of the Late Cliff Wheaton, a well- known local Armidale businessman.
Wheatons Coast of Arms
Cliff was a stock and station agent and was passionate about cricket and started up Wheatons Touring Club 1n 1950. He was also the sole selector and extended the invitation to tour to players of ability from places such as Lismore, Goondiwindi, Guyra, Walcha, Nowendoc, as well as Armidale. This ensured that the team usually gave a good account of itself! The tour group would include both junior and senior teams and would tour often for 2 weeks to such places as North Coast, Hunter Valley and Central West regions of New South Wales as well as South Australia and Queensland.
For many years the foundation of the team’s batting centred around Neville Holstein from Nowendoc, who was an elegant left-hand batsman, his brother, Max and Wally Miller. Rene Mullen and Norm Buckley, both great bowlers, invariably opened the bowling.
In 1958, the Armidale/Wheatons’ Colts toured western NSW with Brian Curry from Tenterfield and Hugh McCrindle from Armidale, excelling with consistent batting performances.
The New England Number 1 team of that tour included two notable guest players, Sam Trimble and Jack McLean from Lismore.
Jack McLean scored 117 (retired) against Grenfell, the home town of Stan McCabe and 106 in Wellington.
Trimble scored 102 not out against Dubbo and later represented both Queensland and Australia with distinction. He held the Queensland run scoring record until overtaken by Martin Love some years ago now.
At Wellington, Neville Holstein scored 90, and followed up with a second 90 in Orange in a team total of 8 declared for 204. In reply Jack Moroney, recently retired from first class cricket with New South Wales and Australia, hit up 152 with 23 boundaries and one six in a winning score of 2/227.
Wheatons Cap Crest 1958 (Courtesy Bob Patricks)
Wally Miller scored many thousand runs in Armidale Competition. In 1960 he scored 3 centuries in Armidale cricket, 2 in representative matches and one for Wheatons’ Touring Cricket Team. Wally represented the Postal Institute in a match that brought Johnny Gleeson to the attention of Sydney scouts.
In 1958 Miller represented Armidale with many of his Wheatons colleagues in matches against a Jack Chegwyn X1. He vividly remembered Alan Davidson bowling him for a first ball duck! In the second innings he received a friendly full toss from Norm O’Neill to get him off the mark. He remembered scoring 16 not out (thanks to Norm), against legends of the game including Richie Benaud, Peter Philpott and Jimmy Burke.
The original Cliff Wheaton tour concept of touring with both juniors and senior teams changed following his death in 1966.
_________________________________
The Wheatons Touring CC was formed into a seniors-only club in the early 1960’s. A Tasmania tour was undertaken in 1966 and the club participated in the Queensland Country Week carnival for some 30 years and the Moree Easter Carnival for some 20 years
_________________________________
Wheatons Golden Oldies Touring Cricket Club 1990- 2018
A Contemporary summary by Kevin Pike (2022)
The Wheatons Golden Oldies then reformed the club in the 1980’s as an Over 40s team ,managed by David Laurie, a former Armidale resident and a former junior Wheatons’ tourist with Cliff Wheaton.
Wheatons’ Golden Oldies have participated regularly in international carnivals from 1992 to 2018 then with tours to New Zealand (many), Scotland, England (2), South Africa (2), Canada (2), South America, Nepal and Sri-Lanka being enjoyable high-lights as well as Australian based international carnivals held in Sydney, Brisbane, Gold Coast (3), Sunshine Coast, Adelaide and Perth. (Each one of these tours is a separate story yet to be told!)
Wheatons Touring Cricket Club in Sri Lanka
Armidale players Tony Ryan, Graham Johnson and Ian Watts were among the original players at the early carnivals. From 1999 the team management reverted back to Armidale.
In 1998 the Wheatons’ group, with many others, formed -up the Armidale Golden Oldies, which commenced at that time to provide cricket and social activities suitable for enthusiasts of post competition age.
One quick story worth telling at this juncture is that The Gold Coast at Currumbin on 30th March 2001 Wheaton’s , chasing a modest target of 104 by CBC Old Boys were all out at the same score for an historic tie! Yes, you guessed it K. Pike was last man out doing the inexcusable, by trying to hit over the ringed in -field and with a clean air-swing - out bowled! Bruce Oxenford was our guest leg spin bowler this day.
In April 2002 Armidale- Wheatons had the great pleasure of witnessing the last known innings of Neville Holstein in a match against Gloucester at Lambert Park. Neville, then enjoying his advanced years, played a delightful cameo innings against the very best of the Armidale bowlers, to retire gracefully on scoring 15 runs. What a great honour it was to have bowled to Neville that day.
Another land-mark date was in March 2004 in another match against Gloucester at Lambert Park with Howard Wheaton OAM, (Cliff’s son), invited as a guest celebrity to this match. Howard thoroughly enjoyed his afternoon at Lambert Park, talking to the players from both teams most having a connection to Wheatons CC. This was Howard’s last outing, as he had been quite unwell for some time and passed away soon after on 23 April 2004. The end of an era.
This Armidale Golden Oldies is now named The New England Veterans Cricket Association.
In 2008 the group aligned itself to the developing Veterans Cricket movement throughout New South Wales with the first “sanctioned” Veterans (Over 60s) match between Armidale and Tamworth played in Tamworth in December 2008. Armidale Over 60s: 6-174 (Mike Porter 32, Geoff Wood 30, Kevin Pike 28, Brian Gream 22; For Tamworth-Robert Laurie 2/33) d Tamworth Over 60s: 162 (Col Barton 29, Robert Laurie 40, Doug Truman 26; For Armidale- Roy Powell and Phil Allen both took 2 wickets).
Wheatons CC at Currumbin, Gold Coast 30th March 2001
Back Row - Bruce Oxenford -Guest player (Queensland Shield player and later Queensland and Australian Umpire, Brian Barnden, Brian Bower, Tom Vincent, Alan Donges, Garry Griffith, Wes Davis, Mike Muldoon,
Front Row - Kevin Lyon (Guest player), Kevin Pike, Phil Allen, Ian Watts
Publicity Armidale Express December 2008 Before the first “sanctioned” NSW Veterans match Armidale v Tamworth.
Left to right - Kevin Pike, Mike Muldoon, Ian Watts, Phil Allen.
Join the cricket network to promote your business and expertise. Make it easy for people to search and find the people and services they need through people they know and trust.
Join the network
