Mitchell Park Cricket Club traces its history back to 1958/59, when the Happy Valley club entered a side in Section 5 of the Adelaide & Suburban Cricket Competition.

Why is Happy Valley part of Mitchell Park history?
At the end of the 1967/68 season, the Happy Valley club notified the A&SCA that they would be relocating to the Mitchell Park oval and would be renamed to Mitchell Park Cricket Club as a result.
Roughly half of the Mitchell Park A-Grade players in 1968/69 had played for Happy Valley the previous season.

Why start at 1958/59?
Happy Valley commenced playing cricket at the old Happy Valley Recreation Ground from at least the 1875/76 season (one year before the first test match).
They competed in the Southern League for many years, last competing in 1954/55.

After having no team at all for 3 seasons, Happy Valley then entered a team in in Section 5 of the Adelaide & Suburban Cricket Competition in 1958/59.

As no players from 1954/55 or earlier had significant careers post 1958/59 and no players at all from 1954/55 (or earlier) went on to play for Mitchell Park, it was agreed by the club committee in the late 90s that the club's history (and associated records and statistics) should start when Happy Valley joined Adelaide and Suburban in 1958/59.

Furthermore, it was decided at that point that all Happy Valley records from that time onwards should be included in our club records.
Prior to this, only players who had played for both Happy Valley and Mitchell Park were included in Mitchell Park records.

By taking our history back to 1958/59, we cover the full Mitchell Park era, we include the full careers of players who played for both Happy Valley and Mitchell Park, and the three season gap and change of leagues makes for a nice logical break from the Happy Valley side that has no major connections to the side that relocated to Mitchell Park.

For the record, Brian Schurgott (who played for us as Happy Valley, but not as Mitchell Park) helped reform a team called Happy Valley some time in the early 1970s, several years after Happy Valley relocated to Mitchell Park. This "new" Happy Valley club still exists, and we have no connections with their history at all.


Decade Summary
In their first season, Happy Valley finished fourth in Section 5, the lowest available level of competition. This was largely due to the efforts of captain Jack Jolly, who averaged 74 with the bat and 10 with the ball! Jolly had 3 x 100s and 4 x 50s in 14 innings that season, as well as taking twice as many wickets as his next best teammate. Fittingly, Jolly's 816 runs and 47 wickets won him both the A&SCA Section 5 Batting and Section 5 Bowling Trophies.
Jack Jolly led Happy Valley to their first premiership in Section 4 during the following season, 1959/60. Mitchell Park dominated this section, the lowest available, going through the season undefeated.
Don Dewar made nearly 700 runs to pip Jack Jolly for the batting trophy, while Jack Jolly took 50 wickets to win the bowling trophy ahead of his son Des Jolly, who took 30, while Brian Schurgott snaffled 20 wickets with his medium pacers. Dewar won the A&SCA Section 4 Batting Trophy and Jack Jolly won the A&SCA Section 4 Bowling Trophy.

Happy Valley went back-to-back under Jolly in 1960/61, this time in Section 3. The batting honours were shared around this season. Des Jolly won the aggregate with 441, but there were solid contributions from Jack Jolly, Bob Langley (brother of Australian Test wicketkeeper Gil Langley) and Don Dewar. With the ball, Jack Jolly won the bowling aggregate, as he did in every season he played at Happy Valley, while he was ably backed by M.Chambers with 35 wickets and Brian Schurgott took 24 in another consistent season.

For the rest of the Happy Valley era, they competed in Section 2, placing 4th in 1961/62 and 3rd in 1962/63, 1966/67 and 1967/68.

Jack Jolly won his third and fourth A&SCA Bowling Trophies in 1963/64 (Section 2, 47 wickets) and 1966/67 (Section 2, 40 wickets).

In 1967/68, Fred Wright won the A&SCA Section 2 Batting Trophy with 850 runs, including two magnificent centuries: 197 and 113, both against Kenilworth. This remained our Club's record run aggregate in a season for almost thirty years, and still remains the A-Grade record.

Notable Players
 Jack Jolly - Member of Club All-Time XI. Middle order bat and first change outswing bowler come off-spinner.
 Fred Wright - Member of Club All-Time XI. All-Rounder. Middle order bat, leg spin bowler.
 Kevin Heffernan - Member of Club All-Time XI. Top Order batsman, part time bowler.
 Des Jolly - son of Jack Jolly. Middle order batsman and off-spinner.
 Bob Langley - brother of test cricketer Gil Langley. Good top order batsman. Tragically died young when hit by a train at work in the railyards.
 Brian Schurgott - walked with a limp, bowled medium pace. Took over 100 wickets at a low average.
Team Of The Decade (unofficial)
1. D.Dewar
2. K.Heffernan *
3. R.Langley
4. D.Jolly
5. J.Jolly (c) *
6. F.Wright *
7. J.Manning +
8. R.Hunter
9. B.Schurgott
10. M.Chambers
11. T.Pascoe
(12th D.Machell)

* = Member of official All-Time XI
(c) = Captain
+ = Wicket Keeper

At the end of the 1967/68 season, the Happy Valley Cricket Club announced that they were relocating to the Mitchell Park Sports Ground and would also be renamed, to the Mitchell Park Cricket Club. During the first season as Mitchell Park (1968/69), they fielded two sides for the first time, and the A-Grade won the Section 2 premiership.

This resulted in promotion to Section 1. Over the next 9 years Mitchell Park finished in the top four on 8 occasions and finished their first ten years at Mitchell Park with our first (and to-date, only) Section 1 premiership in 1977/78.

This was by far our most successful decade in the A-Grade, and this was reflected when our All-Time Team was chosen for the 50 Year celebrations, with some 6 representatives from this era making the All-Time side.


Decade Summary
In their first season as Mitchell Park (1968/69), the A-Grade won the Section 2 premiership under the guidance of captain Fred Wright. Two members of the Club's All-Time XI led the way, with Kevin Heffernan winning the batting trophy (that would one day bear his name) for the third time, and captain Fred Wright winning the bowling trophy for the second year in a row. Wright's 43 wickets at just 9.4 also gained him the A&SCA Section 2 Bowling Trophy. Along with F.Arscott (38 wickets at 12.2 in his only season for the Lions) and Gordon Carey (31 wickets at 15.1), Mitchell Park's bowling ripped through most batting lineups. Heffernan's 361 pipped the skipper Wright by just 3 runs for the batting aggregate, while Gordon Carey won the batting average with 303 runs at 30.3.

In their first season of Section 1 (1969/70), Mitchell Park finished in second position, this time under Kevin Heffernan's captaincy. Future All-Time XI member Gordon Carey won the A&SCA Section 1 Bowling trophy with 54 wickets. Fielding three teams for the first time, both the B-Grade and C-Grade finished third, in Sections 3 and 4 respectively.

Mitchell Park finished third again in 1970/71, then advanced to second in 1971/72, but dropped out of the four in 1972/73 for the only time in the decade. After returning up the ladder to third in 1973/74, they finished fourth in each of the following three seasons before completing their first decade at Mitchell Park with the 1977/78 Section 1 premiership under Neil McAvaney. Again, two members of the Club's All-Time XI led the way, with Bob Wood winning the batting trophy with 276 runs at 25.1 and skipper McAvaney winning the bowling trophy with 34 wickets at 12.2, featuring a best of 5/21. Jon Downs made 233 at 29.1 to win the batting average, and Gordon Carey also contributed strongly with the bat with 189 at 27.0. Carey also took 18 wickets, and along with David Peters (20 wickets at 16.6) he helped provide the main bowling assistance to McAvaney's spin.

In the lower grades, the C-Grade finished Section 4 runners up in 1972/73, and the B-Grade won the 1975/76 Section 3 premiership after a dominant season under stalwart Kevin Heffernan, who had dropped down the ranks by this stage of his career. Fred Wright won the batting aggregate with 472 runs, which remains the B-Grade season aggregate record and won him the A&SCA Section 3 Batting Trophy. Meanwhile, a young John Leicester averaged 175 with the bat in his 3 innings to win the 1975/76 B-Grade Batting Average trophy. With the ball, it was the triumvirate of Steve Kelly (31 wickets), John Gumley (29) and Peter Berkshire (25 @ 5.0 including best of 8/7) who brought most of the success. Also, Gordon Carey won the A&SCA Section 1 Bowling Trophy for the second time in 1975/76.

As well as the Section 1 premiership, 1977/78 also saw Mitchell Park field four sides for the first time, confirming their status as a powerhouse of the Adelaide and Suburban competition in the 70s.


Notable Players
 Neil McAvaney - Captain of Club All-Time XI. Off-spinner and lower order bat.
 Gordon Carey - Member of Club All-Time XI. All-Rounder. Middle order bat, quick bowler.
 David Peters - All-Rounder. Middle order bat, swing bowler. One of only six players to have won both the A-Grade batting and bowling trophies (along with Jolly, Wright, Carey, Sutherland and Farrant).
 Trevor Thompson - Quick bowler, as well as member of famous "Thompson Team" of 1999/00.
 Ron Hilton - widely acknowledged as one of our greatest ever wicket keepers, if not the greatest.
Team Of The Decade (unofficial)
1. B.McArdle
2. K.Heffernan *
3. R.Wood *
4. D.Peters
5. J.Kerr
6. F.Wright *
7. G.Carey *
8. N.McAvaney (c) *
9. P.Berkshire *
10. T.Thompson
11. R.Hilton +
(12th W.Morris)

* = Member of official All-Time XI
(c) = Captain
+ = Wicket Keeper

1978/79 saw Mitchell Park field 5 sides for the first time, on the back of their 1977/78 Section 1 premiership. The E-Grade remained for the rest of this decade (and beyond) and Mitchell Park as a club were reasonably successful and quite competitive in Section 1 for the most part, despite a slight dip in the early 80s.

The only premiership in this era was for the C-Grade in Section 5 in 1980/81, but all grades other than the B-Grade managed top 4 finishes at least once over the ten years. Most sides were competitive throughout the late 70s and 80s, and the C-Grade in Section 4 in 1985/86 and D-Grade in Section 6 the following year ended up playing in losing Grand Finals (finals having been introduced in 1984/85).

Decade Summary
The A-Grade followed their 1977/78 premiership by finishing third in 1978/79, with club legend Bob Wood winning the batting trophy that would one day bear his name with 381 runs @ 29.3, while fellow legend Peter Berkshire won the bowling with 26 wickets @ 13.0. In 1979/80 Mitchell Park finished fourth, with stoic opener Neil Raeburn making 314 with a best of 131, while All-Time Team member Neil McAvaney won the Section 1 Association Bowling Trophy with 50 wickets, including a best of 7/32.

In 1980/81, the C-Grade won the Section 5 premiership. While four batters topped 140, the leader was Neil Murphy with just 169 runs for the season. But with three dominant bowlers in skipper Steve Kelly (46 wickets @ 8.7), Col Cunningham (34 @ 6.4) and Phil Lawn (25 @ 5.7) supported by cameos from the likes of Berkshire, Gumley and Trevor 'Spud' Murphy, they bowled themselves to victory.

In the last season before finals, 1983/84, two legends won Association trophies, with Alan Sutherland winning the Section 1 batting with 674 runs (including a best of 201 not out, which remains the A-Grade record score) and Peter Berkshire winning the Section 2 bowling trophy with 39 wickets.

1985/86 saw the A-Grade play in the Section 1 finals, ultimately finishing in fourth place. Brian "Skippy" McArdle won both batting trophies with 310 at 28.2, while the bowling aggregate was won Daryl Reynolds and Alan Sutherland with 26 wickets each, and a young Shane Rusby won the bowling average with 19 wickets at 15.05. Dave Reddaway won the Section 2 bowling trophy, and the C-Grade finished runners up in Section 4.

In 1986/87, Alan Sutherland won his second Section 1 batting trophy, with his 521 runs and 27 wickets helping shore up fifth place for the A-Grade. The A's finished this decade in fifth position in 1987/88 thanks to the batting of Neil Murphy and David "Dingo" Dean (who also won the A&SCA Fielding Trophy that year), and the bowling of All Time XI members Neil McAvaney and Daryl Reynolds.


Notable Players
 Bob Wood - Top A-Grade run scorer, as well as a more than handy bowler (over 150 A-Grade wickets). Only player to have played over 200 A-Grade games.
 Alan Sutherland - Our club's greatest all-rounder. Sudsy made 5 of his 6 A-Grade hundreds in this decade, as well as taking 10 of his 15 Five-Fors.
 Brian McArdle - Skippy McArdle was one of our greatest opening batsmen, playing 191 A-Grade games for the Lions. Loved the hook shot.
 Neil Murphy - the bespectacled, moustachioed Murphy was a solid right hand batsmen for the club for much of the 80s and early 90s
 Peter Berkshire - in the 80s Berky was a super quick inswing bowler and hard hitting lower order batsman.
 Phil Davis - the long serving A&SCA president started out as a 5-time D-Grade captain and Life Member at the Lions. Phil played 105 of his 153 games in this decade.
Team Of The Decade (unofficial)
1. N.Raeburn
2. B.McArdle
3. A.Sutherland (c) *
4. R.Wood *
5. P.Kelly
6. Neil M. Murphy
7. J.Gumley
8. P.Berkshire *
9. D.Reynolds *
10. M.Thomas +
11. W.Morris
(12th K.Johannsen)

* = Member of official All-Time XI
(c) = Captain
+ = Wicket Keeper

Mitchell Park started this era with 5 sides, two premierships and the A-Grade in Section 1 finals. They ended the decade with only three sides, and the A-Grade missing the finals for the eighth consecutive season, having finished bottom of Section 1 for the first time ever in 1996/97. There were four premierships in this decade, making it the most successful in terms of flags. The first was in the B-Grade, while the remaining three were in the C-Grade.


Decade Summary
Mitchell Park started this decade in fine style, winning two premierships in 1988/89, with the B-Grade in Section 2 (Ray Jaunutis 359 @ 39.9, Scott Rusby 287 @ 35.9, Dave Reddaway 29 wickets @ 13.7, Malcolm Davies 18 wickets @ 14.2) and C-Grade in Section 4 (John Kocbek 462 runs @ 46.2, Flash Flesfadar 422 runs @ 70.3 and 36 wickets @ 16.7, Terry Hollis 16 wickets @ 17.6), while the A-Grade were competitive in Section 1, finishing fourth (David "Dingo" Dean 417 runs @ 34.8, Neil McAvaney 27 wickets, Peter Berkshire 16 wickets @ 19.6).

The following season (1989/90) saw Mitchell Park field 6 teams for the only time in its history, with the "F-Troop" going down in folklore. Over the years nearly everyone of that era has claimed a piece of the pie. To this day, Terry Hollis swears he played for them. But he didn't. The Lions didn't win any premierships that year, but finished fourth in C-Grade, third in B-Grade and fourth in A-Grade (Scott Rusby 503 @ 50.3, Alan Sutherland 389 @ 35.4 and 39 wickets @ 14.0, Peter Berkshire 23 wickets, Malcolm Davies 20 wickets @ 14.95).

In 1990/91 Mitchell Park fielded 5 sides and only the E-Grade played in finals, finishing 3rd in Section 6 (Berkshire 354 runs, Boglic 39.2 bat ave, Berkshire 32 wickets, McGinley 31 wickets @ 14.2, Boglic 30 wickets @ 12.1). The A-Grade were led by the usual suspects with both bat (Rusby, McArdle, Sutherland) and ball (Sutherland, Davies, Reynolds), but dropped off significantly on the Section 1 ladder.

While the early 90s saw Mitchell Park drop down the Section 1 ladder on a consistent basis, 1992/93 saw some success in the lower grades at least. The C-Grade played in a losing Section 4 Grand Final under Peter Berkshire. Berky led the way with bat and ball that year, winning the batting with 276 runs and the bowling with 31 wickets, while two other stalwarts in John Gumley (183 runs, 23 wickets) and Terry Hollis (257 runs, 18 wickets) contributed solidly with both bat and ball. Anthony Nobes won the batting average with 202 @ 67.3, while Neil McAvaney won the bowling average with 22 @ 16.4. The same season saw the E-Grade finish third in Section 7 under Jon Kocbek. Leith Lelliott had two tons in his 704 @ 58.7, while club Player Of The Year Gerry McGinley also had two tons in his 629 @ 62.9, while also taking 22 wickets @ 14.6 in the process. Phil Hunter won the E-Grade bowling with 28 wickets @ 11.9.

The C-Grade won the Section 5 premierships in 1994/95 and 1996/97, albeit with totally different sides and in totally different circumstances. In 1994/95, skipper Jack Doherty captained a very talented and well rounded team of mates to a dominant season and finals series. While Michael "Bolt" Dinan switched from tennis to footy with a couple of batting trophies (392 @ 56.0), he was ably supported by a troop of batsmen, with no fewer than six batsmen (Dinan, Jack Doherty, Warren Crook, Jeff Trinne, Mark Backman and John Forster) making over 200 runs that year. With the ball, Darren Riddle led the way. His blistering pace was far too quick for Section 5, and he took 30 wickets @ 8.2. Supporting him were a couple of future A-Grade premiership players in Terry "TH" Hollis (23 wickets) and Steve "Tank" Sherman (15), as well as a host of part time options in Doherty, Trinne and Forster.

In 1996/97 the C-Grade won the Section 5 Grand Final but lost the premiership on a technicality. Robbie Lawrence only made 82 runs @ 11.7 and took 1 wicket @ 78.0, but he unfortunately played more games (2 x A, 5 x B) in the higher grades than in the C's (6 games) and nobody realised until club secretary Darren Adams received a phone call from John Heptinstall on April Fool's Day 1997. Skipper John Leicester's side celebrated like premiers and runners up Sheidow Park didn't want to take the premiership, and it was just disappointing all round. Superstar of the C's was Simon Burden, who won the BJ McArdle Trophy (now Daryl Reynolds All Rounder) with what remains to this day a record score of 1105 points. Burden won the Section 5 A&SCA batting with 888 runs @ 68.3 including three hundreds and four fifties, while also taking 27 wickets @ 12.8 with a best of 8/63. While he won both batting trophies, John Forster won the bowling aggregate with 39 wickets and Jeff Trinne won the bowling average with 25 @ 12.72.

The B-Grade finished third in 1996/97 and then fourth the following year. Winners of the batting trophies were Anthony Nobes (373 runs) and Kym Dawson (58.3 ave), and John Shirley (304 runs) and Michael Dinan (83.7 ave), while Daryl Reynolds and Terry Hollis had solid years both years. With the ball, trophy winners were Terry Hollis (37 wickets and 22 wickets) and David "Muey" Scott (12.4 ave) and John Forster (22 @ 14.3).


Notable Players
 Scott Rusby - a solid and capable middle order batsman (winner of and a superb catcher in the field, whether in slips or wicket-keeping.
 Jim McDonald - Jim and his long, ginger, WG Grace beard were synonymous with Mitchell Park cricket for many years. A quietly spoken, sturdy, evergreen opening bat and great committee man.
 Daryl Reynolds - a tearaway quick bowler in his younger years, who loved to hit and hurt the batsmen, and an aggressive lower order batsman.
 Ray Jaunutis - Sugar Ray was a great club man who played most of his cricket here in the 90s. Ray took 155 of his 200 wickets in this decade.
 Terry Hollis - Terry is the club's leading wicket taker and has also played the most games for the Lions. A late blooming medium paced in-swing bowler, with a late blooming nickname, TH transitioned smoothly to Tangles a few years ago. Terry has both a penchance for no balls and a deceptive yorker. Also has a crack in the cement at Mitchell Park Oval named after him.
 Chris Farrant - Thrasher Farrant was a middle order batsman and leg spin bowler. Didn't score any A-Grade hundreds during his 4 seasons at the Lions, but still averaged an impressive 33.5 in Section 1 nonetheless.
Team Of The Decade (unofficial)
1. B.McArdle
2. J.McDonald
3. G.Moran
4. A.Sutherland *
5. C.Farrant (c)
6. D.Adams *
7. Scott A. Rusby + *
8. K.Dawson
9. P.Berkshire *
10. D.Reynolds *
11. M.Davies
(12th S.Rodgers)

* = Member of official All-Time XI
(c) = Captain
+ = Wicket Keeper

Beginning the decade in section 1 didn't bring good news for the lions. After finishing towards the bottom end of the table in 2008/09 and then losing a host of players, we were enabled to drop down to section 2. After 2 season Section 2, and more poor on field results, the club found their A Grade languishing in Section 3 during the 2011/12 season campaign. This brought much needed life back into the club and, after missing finals in 2011/12, we found ourselves competing in finals for the next 3 seasons, including 2 grand final appearances. Following the success of 2014/15, which created 4 grand final appearance and 2 premierships from our 4 teams (A and C Grade) we were promoted back up to Section 2. With the inclusion of some handy players, the added depth to the club benefited all grades and we were able to field a 5th side in season 2015/16 and beyond. The promotion to Section 2 was a successful one without the ultimate prize, the side competing in finals, falling short in the semi finals.
To accompany the success of 2014/15, there was also a premiership in 2008/09 in our D Grade, bringing our premiership tally for the decade to 3. Along with this, we competed regularly in finals across all grades.

Decade Summary
Mitchell Park finished second to bottom of Section 1 in 2008/09 and were subsequently relegated to Section 2 the following season. Unfortunately we finished towards the lower end of Section 2, and, following 2010/11s wooden spoon, we were relegated to Section 3 for the first time in the clubs history. Thankfully, this was as low as the club would drop. After missing finals in 2011/12 despite beating the minor premiers twice, the club found themselves in finals once more in 2012/13 eventually finishing runners up in the one that got away. 2013/14 was successful but didn't bring the desired trophy home, however, in season 2014/15 we would bring 2 premierships back to the club and see our A Grade promoted back up to Section 2.

Other bright moments for for the club throughout this time was the reintroduction of juniors to the club. From only fielding 1 junior side, or none at times, we were able to regularly field juniors in Under 10s, 12s, 14s and 16s with some also representing our senior sides. To accompany this, Terry Hollis won the Section 6 Bowling trophy in a premiership season as well as being awarded association life membership with Peter Berkshire. Andrew Bicanin won the Bert Crowhurst Memorial Fielding Trophy in 2009/10, John Leicester was awarded association life membership in 2011/12 and Brett Campbell was awarded the Jim Coulls Wicket Keeping Trophy in 2012/13. Following these individual successes was Nathan Checketts with the Section 3 bowling trophy, Todd May won the Section 7 batting trophy and Shawn Davis won the Section 5 wicket keeping trophy.

Notable Players
Darren Adams- Member All time XI
Justin Smoker- Member All Time XI
Tim Harris- Handy and trusty opening batsmen. Tim scored his 3 club centuries this decade.
Jamie Somerfield- Sublimely skilled batsmen. Jamie amassed all of his club runs this decade, including numerous 50s and a century.
Chris Farrell- In minimal time at the club, Chris has scored over 1000 runs at an average nudging 50

Team of the Decade (official 50th Year Celebrations)
Tim Harris
Shaun Hollis
Darren Adams
Chris Farrell
Jamie Somerfield
Mahen Fernando
Chris Badman (wk)
Nathan Checketts
Jake Hollis
Justin Smoker
Jamie Bonnet
Robert Drenthen (12th Man)

2017/18 was the 50th season as Mitchell Park Cricket Club as lions at Mitchell Park. Throughout the season there were a number of activities celebrating the successes of our past and present champions of the club.

As part of the celebrations, our All Time XI for this period ranging from 1968/69-2017/18. Throughout this period, the Mitchell Park Cricket Club has been represented by a number of talented individuals in the Adelaide & Suburban Cricket Association, winning 11 Premierships across the various sections, finishing runners up on 14 occasions. Along with this, we have had various individuals awarded association trophies for a number of successes, including fielding, wicket keeping, batting, bowling and player of the year awards throughout the years.

The official, All Time XI Team was selected by club stalwarts John Gumley, Terry Hollis and Peter Berkshire, thanks to statistics supplied by Darren Adams.

The selected side was heavily weighted towards performances within the A Grade, with a greater emphasis put on performances in the more competitive Section 1 and 2 grades respectively.

The side selected was as follows:

Kev Heffernan

Shaun Hollis

Bob Wood

Allan Sutherland (vc)

Darren Adams

Brian McArdle

Scott Rusby (wk)

Gordon Carey

Justin Smoker

Peter Berkshire

Neil McAvaney (C)

Grant Moran (12th Man)