It is with great sadness that we record the death on 29 August of IAN FISHER aged 86.
Ian was a former 1st Grade captain, chairman of selectors, and a NSW selector
A more comprehensive obituary will follow.
James Rodgers
Dr Cyril Latimer was, for many years, the driving force behind the SUCC Veterans. He has written this book. The Preface is featured here.
James Rodgers
Preface
In my eighty-fifth year, I have decided to gather and print some autobiographical material together with my mostly non-academic, published and unpublished Bits and Pieces under an appropriately pretentious title. The slender volume will not be for sale but will be given to some friends and family. Copies may also be available on request. The bits and pieces are Invited Speeches as well as Eulogies, Obituaries and invited pieces written for the Sydney University Cricket Club (SUCC) Foundation Newsletters, Contributions to Newspapers such as The Belfast Telegraph, The Sydney Morning Herald and TON TALK: The Newsletter of the Royal Navy TON Class Association and the RANSA Newsletter that I edited for some years. Rather than being arranged chronologically, the Bits and Pieces are organised under main and sub-headings that depict the major and minor phases, obsessions and confessions of my life: Belfast, The University of Sydney, Cricket, Sailing, Family, Ornithology and Irish “History”.
This book is not intended to be one that, once you pick it up, you cannot put it down, and the fond hope is that it will not be a book that, once you put it down, you cannot pick it up. We have all read and not read such books. The work, having no obvious theme or continuity, is more of the “Coffee Table” variety, to be dipped into rather than read section after section. Interspersed throughout the book are some of my favourite short poems, sometimes with commentary and context where appropriate and sometimes not. I emphasise the shortness of these poems and songs – I do love “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock” and “The Lady of Shalott”, but not here.
“BERT FOLKARD - The Pride of Callan Park”', is co written by Pat Rodgers, a former Sydney University Cricket Club player. He is the brother of the current SUCC Patron James Rodgers and father of Matthew Rodgers who plays for St George DCC.
Dear Club Members and Supporters,
We trust this cricket off season is being used enjoyably and profitably.
From our earliest matches to the present day, cricket at the University of Sydney has represented more than just a sport—it has been a way of life. It is here that countless young athletes have forged lifelong friendships, built resilience, and created memories that shape them long after their time at the University.
Cricket at the University of Sydney embodies a spirit of community, sportsmanship, and excellence that has remained unwavering for over 150 years.
We are committed to continuing this proud tradition and fostering the next generation of cricketers. To do this, we need your support to help strengthen and grow our club’s legacy.
We invite you to make a tax-deductible donation today to sport at the University of Sydney, including the general purposes of the sport of cricket, to help ensure our athletes have access to the best resources for both their sporting and academic pursuits.
Your donation will directly contribute to helping us to maintain and enhance the cricket program’s quality and reach. Your generous donation, will have a meaningful impact and help to support our current priorities for both our men and women’s program, which include:
Financial support for training tours and competition travel, helping athletes gain exposure and experience on larger stages
Enhanced coaching capacity to ensure student athletes receive expert guidance and mentorship.
Essential training equipment and match-day gear to maintain high performance standards.
Expansion and sustainability of the Women’s Program, ensuring equal opportunities for all athletes.
· Facility improvements, including the development of Oval #1, to provide safe and high-quality spaces for training and competition.
· Scholarships and financial assistance to deserving athletes who may face financial barriers to participation.
As we look to the future, we are excited to continue fostering growth, inclusivity, and excellence in our cricket programs to sustain our proud sporting tradition. To keep up with the growing need we need you to consider joining with us and making a donation today.
To donate, please visit give.sydney.edu.au/sport or call the University Gift Hotline on +61 2 9552 2539.
Thank you for your unwavering support and dedication to cricket at the University of Sydney. It is only through the commitment of loyal supporters like you that we continue to thrive and grow.
With kind regards
Colin Robertson
P.S If you would like to discuss making a significant contribution to the sport of cricket at the University, please contact Dylan Loru on +61 466 249 656 or dylan.loru@sydney.edu.au.
One month ago, 14 May 2025, marked the 115th anniversary of the Club's initial, gripping 1st Grade premiership for 1909-10.
University had been readmitted to 1st Grade only in 1902-03, restricted to undergraduates but its young teams were gradually becoming more competitive.
Central Cumberland and University had tied for first place after the final round of the 1909-10 season and University, in its initial 1st Grade final, played Cumberland at the SCG beginning on Saturday 30 April 1910.
Fast medium Roy Minnett (a future Test player), with 4-51, and leg spinner George Willcocks (3-46) caused a collapse on a good batting wicket and Cumberland was all out for 135.
University's powerful batting line-up then succumbed to the medium pacers of "Mudgee" Cranney. By stumps, University was precariously placed at 7 for 74.
The scheduled second day's play (7 May) had to be postponed because of the death of King Edward VII and the game could not resume until Saturday 14 May with Andrew Watson and Walter Stack in occupation.
7 for 74 became 8-91 then 9-107. One wicket to fall; 29 runs to win. First year undergraduate, left hander Lisle Terrey joined Watson.
Terrey was dropped, a difficult chance at fine leg but the last wicket pair continued to scamper singles and to hit lusty boundaries until Terrey mis-hit a shot and the ball evaded "deep slip" for a boundary. The last pair had added 29 to win the game and the premiership.
"The two batsmen...were rushed by their comrades and though they are fairly big fellows, they were carried off the field." ('The Referee', 16 May 1910)
Within eighteen months, Andrew Watson was to set out from Hobart bound for the Antarctic with Sir Douglas Mawson's Polar expedition, one of the heroic journeys of Australian exploration.
University was to win three 1st Grade Premierships from 1909-10 to 1913-14 but this first one, 115 years ago, is worthy of celebration.
James Rodgers
The Chief Justice of NSW, the Honourable Andrew Bell, has recently been awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Laws by the University of Sydney.
The Chief Justice played in the lower grades for SUCC and for the Sydney University Veterans in the 1980s.
James Rodgers
Brick by Brick: The Australian Cricketers in England 1964
Published: 2025
Pages: 209
Author: Bonnell, Max
https://www.cricketweb.net/books/brick-by-brick/
There have been some excellent books about past tours published in recent years, and Max Bonnell was, last year, responsible for one of the very best of them. He chose a good subject then, the first ever visit of a West Indian team to Australia back in 1930/31. A ground breaking series it had the benefit of not having been written about at great length before and the absence of any contemporary account. Social, political and economic conditions were also very different in the 1930s from those anyone alive now is familiar with.
But the 1964 Ashes? In some ways I suppose it was the same, but to call it ground breaking would be a stretch, although Bob Simpson’s Aussie’s were the first to fly into England. That said it sounds like their 16 hour flight from India wasn’t much fun. Sixty years ago the world was again a very different place, but this time there are plenty of us with some memory of the time, and for this tour there were four accounts of the series published in the months after it concluded although, perhaps understandably in light of the way it unfolded very little has been written about it since.
The 1930/31 series was, predictably, largely one sided. Bill Woodfull’s Australian were far too good for their visitors and recorded thumping victories in each of the first four Tests before, as dominant Australian teams have been wont to do on occasion subsequently, they allowed West Indies to regroup and secure an unexpected consolation win in the final Test.
In 1964 though the first, second and fifth Tests were all rain affected draws, and the fourth Test at Old Trafford one of the most boring Tests that has ever been played. This was the one where Australia spent 255.5 overs piling up a score of 656, led by their skipper’s maiden Test century, 311, before England took 38 overs more to score 45 runs less, their reply built around an innings of 256 from Kenny Barrington that occupied more than 11 hours.