HAMILTON Veterans Cricket Club completed a very successful 2023-24 season, with some silverware added to the cabinet.

With many locals involved, the success has been celebrated with hopes of emulating the results next season.

Club secretary, Mark Ross said the Overs 60s team was extremely happy with the achievements of the past season.

“Off the field, the club transitioned from being under the management of the Hamilton and District Cricket Association to becoming an independent incorporated body,” he said.

“We were able to gain the support of Monivae College to play home Veterans Cricket Victoria (VCV) competition games on Sundays, and we were able to gain some new recruits from Portland, Hopetoun and Ararat.

“Our club caters for cricket enthusiasts from across the Western District and we are always looking to recruit new players, it doesn’t matter how good you are at the game, you just have to love cricket.”

On the field, the club also performed extremely well.

“We play eight home and away games in the VCV Over 60s competition during the season,” Ross said.

“Our home games were on the turf wicket at Monivae which has excellent facilities.

“We played our away games at Ballarat and Geelong. Some great games, and collected a couple of good wins.”

Geoff Barker was the leading run-scorer for the season, with Dave Spencer, Richard Kot and Chris Lehman also performing consistently with the bat.

Spencer was the leading wicket-taker, while Ken Baker and Chris Hutchins also did well with the ball.

One of the highlights was the team’s outstanding achievement in the local Border Cup competition, this year conducted in Hamilton.

“It’s a competition between four Over 60s teams – Geelong, Adelaide, Hamilton and South-East Coasters (Mt. Gambier and District),” Ross said.

“The teams play each other in a round robin format across three days.

“The competition hosting alternates each year between Hamilton and Mt. Gambier.”

“This year was our turn to host; we would not be able to undertake this without the support of the local HDCA clubs, who provide their facilities and prepare their turf wickets for the games.

“We were very grateful that Casterton, Tarrington, Hamilton and St Andrew’s Cricket Clubs all strongly support us.”

The efforts off and on the field bore fruit, as Hamilton went through the competition undefeated, beating Geelong in the last game, which turned out to be the grand final, as both teams had not lost up until that point.

Hamilton’s victory in the Border Cup was its first since 2018.

“The other great aspect of this competition is that clubs can enlist past players or players with links to the area to play,” Ross said.

Hamilton’s other success on the field saw the team collect the Peter Phyland Memorial Trophy.

This annual game against South-East Coasters is played in memory of Peter Phyland, who played with Hamilton and was a key organiser and administrator for local veterans’ cricket.

Ross said conditions made it tough, but both teams embraced the challenge.

“The game this season was played in Mt Gambier on the coldest Sunday many of the players have experienced,” he said.

“But both clubs fielded full teams and played competitively in the spirit that Peter would have enjoyed.”

The club also had a number of individuals who gained representative honours.

Ross represented Victorian Veterans in the Division 4 team in the National Veterans competition in Perth, while Ken Baker represented Victoria in the annual challenge match against South Australia in the Barossa Valley.  Additionally, the club had seven players playing for various teams in the annual VCV Echuca Carnival.

In addition to the normal Sunday games, local and state carnivals, and VCV representative teams, many players also take part in the veterans cricket tours that occur regularly.

“Many of our players and their partners have gone on these tours within Australia, such as Darwin, or overseas to England, South Africa, Vanuatu, New Zealand and Europe,” Ross said.

“Many friendships and many wonderful experiences would not have been had if it wasn’t for veterans’ cricket.”

The club is now using the off season to prepare for an even more enjoyable 2024-25 season.

“We hope to gain a few new recruits and play a home game in Portland in the coming season,” Ross said.

Stumps is a long way from being called for these cricketers, as they look ahead to the next campaign.