Short History of Representative Cricket

(Courtesy Mike Gandy, VCTas Historian)

In 2006 Canberra hosted an unofficial National Over 60s Championship.  Tasmania was represented by the Old Launcestonians (which included a couple of ring-ins from elsewhere) but this was then the start of a serious intent to structure veterans cricket across the state.

By the time the next National Championships were held at Yarra Park in Melbourne in November 2007, Veterans Cricket Tasmania (VCT) had been established with Mike Gandy as its president.  Tasmania fielded three teams at the carnival held at Fawkner Park in Carlton playing a Division 1 team and two others in Division 2.

 Melbourne again hosted the Championships in 2008 with Tasmania fielding three teams and it became Tasmania’s turn to conduct the Championships in 2009 with Geoff Anyon running the show and establishing the blue print for successive carnivals into the future.

The unsung heros of the 2009 Championships were the many partners, who undertook a huge workload in catering for the Carnival.  We were fortunate to have their generous assistance preparing and delivering 250 lunches each day.  Key to the management of the catering committee was Dianne McCulloch and Sue Naylor.

Tasmania was represented by three teams when Canberra was host of the 2010 National Over 60s Cricket Carnival.

The popularity of veterans cricket was such that it was timely to formerly establish a National body to organise championships and arrange overseas tours with England a priority destination.  An English team played in the 2007 carnival in Melbourne and by 2010 Australia was ready to reciprocate. 

The first Australian Over 60s team to officially tour the UK in August 2011 was announced at the Canberra Carnival Dinner on Thursday 11 November.

The Armidale Championships in 2011, where Tasmania was the joint Division 1 winner, saw the number of team necessitate the forming of the third Division.