Great team: Stanhope Cricket Club's premiership winning side of 1958-59 featuring Alan McGrath (front row left).
The innings of one of Stanhope Cricket Club’s greats Alan McGrath has come to a close with his passing late last week.
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McGrath was an accomplished left handed opening batsman and Stanhope club stalwart from the late 1950s through to the 1990s.
He and his two brothers Lindsay and Bill played in Stanhope teams in their younger days.
Alan represented the former Kyabram District Cricket Association at both Bendigo and Melbourne Country Weeks and in inter association games with distinction during his career.
He is life member of both the Stanhope Cricket Club and the KDCA.
He was a member of Stanhope’s 1958-59 premiership winning side.
A teammate in that side Cyril Evans described Alan as a fine opening batsman who put a lot of value on his wicket and was hard to get out.
‘‘He’d been well taught when attending Assumption College Kilmore and one of the best Stanhope players in his time,’’ Cyril said.
Alan’s funeral is being held on Thursday in Mooroopna with burial at the Tatura Cemetery.
Quality player: Kyabram’s Kyle Mueller has been named an emergency for the Victorian Country team for the upcoming National Country Championships in Newcastle.
Photo by
Rohan Aldous
Vics will be hard to beat
A punter I know reckons he has a bet well worth entertaining is coming up in the New Year.
His tip is the Victorian Country Cricket League’s representative team looks a ‘good thing’ to win and retain the title it won last year at the National Country Championships in Newcastle.
He is basing his confidence around the fact Kyabram’s Kyle Mueller is only an emergency for the Victorian side and not at this stage in the final squad.
Kyle put his hand up for selection and attended the only training session hopefuls had of impressing to make the team.
‘‘If Kyle Mueller can’t make this side it has to be a bloody good side. I would think his record would show he is up with the very best batsmen in country Victoria, probably better than most,” he said.
Kyle averaged over 100 in Cricket Shepparton’s Haisman Shield competition in 2022/23 and this season has already accumulated 469 runs.
Redbacks among the runs
Kyabram cricketers are figuring prominently among the top run scorers in both the Goulburn Murray and Cricket Shepparton competitions.
Kyle Mueller has amassed 469 runs and went past Shepparton United’s Rehan Bari (425) on Saturday as the leading run getter in the Cricket Shepparton Haisman Shield competition.
Mueller’s teammate Paul Parsons sits in third place with 364 runs after making 38 last Saturday.
Kyabram’s young English import off-spinner Louis Sabbagh-Holt is also sitting second on the list of wicket takers in the Haisman Shield competition with 18 scalps so far, two behind Waaia’s Jesse Trower (20) and three ahead of Nagambie’s Mark Nolen (15).
In the Goulburn Murray Cricket, John McMahon Shield competition Kyabram Fire Brigade’s Paul Newman is heading a great battle for the top runscorer.
Newman’s 92 on Saturday lifted his tally for the season to 536 runs at 89.3.
Hot on his heels are Moama’s Anthony McMahon (507 runs at 72.4) and Echuca South’s import Asantha Singappuli (504 runs at 72).
Flashback: Brendan Fevola’s stint with Yarrawonga was a halcyon time in the Ovens and Murray League.
Photo by
Simon Bingham
Ovens and Murray on the up and up
While the Goulburn League has announced its first profit for over five years, the Ovens and Murray League set a new mark in finals gate receipts this year.
For the first time gate takings in the O and M finals series topped $200 000 - $205 375 to be precise.
It’s the biggest since 2012 when Brendan Fevola was playing with Yarrawonga and the final series gate takings for that year was $181,563.
This season’s O and M grand final between Yarrawonga and Albury attracted 10,156 spectators compared to an estimated 6000 who watched Echuca beat Kyabram for the flag to secure back-to-back premierships the same day.
The Murray League also had record gate receipts of $161,000 for its finals series which included a record $62,000 gate at is grand final at Moama when Mulwala beat Congupna for the flag.
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