Belgrave Cricket Club

Founded in the early 1900’s, from the privately managed Fern Glen Cricket Club (1900/01 – 1906/07), the members formally adopted ‘Belgrave Cricket Club’ in name at the start of the 1907/08 season. The Fern Glen Cricket Club played in the area now known as Tecoma (which prior to 1924 was part of the area known as Belgrave). With the onset land sales along the now Main Street of Belgrave and the construction of the ‘Belgrave Community Hall’ on the site of the present Tecoma Primary School the previously dispersed community had a more centralised community and adopted the township name of Belgrave.

In response to this a Belgrave Football club formed in 1907 and the cricket club then adopted the Belgrave Cricket Club as its name. Throughout the seasons between 1907/08 and 1920/21 (Excluding the War years when no arranged sport was played) the Belgrave CC participated in arranged or social matches. Playing arranged matches, the Belgrave CC has prospered since, with the exception of cessations during World War I (1915/16 – 1920/21), 1927/28 and World War II (1943/44).

The club had its first home ground in the area known as Belgrave Park, (where the Belgrave Swimming Pool is now) but in 1924/25, after the generous donation of land from pioneer local C.T. Alexander, an oval was created and construction of a pavilion commenced at Best Street, where the club has remained ever since. After playing arranged matches in these early years the club commenced competition cricket in the Mountain District Cricket Association as a founding member in 1921/22. In the initial season the club entered two teams, although the second team was abandoned just prior to the post Christmas break. Early success came with consecutive premiership victories in 1923/24, 1924/25 & 1925/26. In 1927/28 the club recessed alongside the Mountain District Cricket Association (MDCA) for one season, brought on by difficulties associated with fielding 4 teams in the MDCA competition. The club reformed again in 1928/29 and affiliated with the neighbouring Ringwood District Cricket Association (RDCA). In this inaugural RDCA season the club entered a second XI in the now reformed MDCA, but the experiment lasted one year and from 1929/30 until 1932/33 the two teams were affiliated with the RDCA.

After finding the travelling arrangements difficult the club returned to the MDCA in 1933/34, where it remained until 1967/68 when it affiliated with the Ferntree Gully And District Cricket Association (FTGDCA) after the demise of the MDCA. Since the first Premiership success in 1923/24 the Club has won 29 Senior Pennants, 9 Veterans Pennants and 3 Junior Pennants. Many long time district names and generations of families have donned the whites for the Belgrave Cricket Club. These include the Alexander, Anderson, Argoon, Broomhall, Dodds, Douglas, Fitton, Meriton, McNair, McCormack, Preston and Wright families - most of who have been in the district for 40 or more years.

In the early years, the Belgrave Football Club wore a blue strip, which may also have been the early colours of the Cricket Club. These were changed to Black and Yellow for a while until, in the 1950’s, the club formally adopted the Black and White that we know and love today. Other periods of name change and recession occurred during World War Two and in the late 1950’s and early 1960’s when, if not for the efforts of the Belgrave Fire Brigade (1958/59) and the Belgrave Football Club (1960’s and early 1970’s) the Belgrave Cricket Club would surely have been extinct...In recent times the club has also overcome adversity with discussions surrounding merger proposals during the mid to late 1990’s due to small playing numbers. However these fears were short lived thanks to the hard work and dedication of the committee members during those times. Since then, the club has flourished with three first grade premierships and vastly improved numbers.

Premiership Records

1st XI

2nd XI

3rd XI

4th XI

5th XI

6th XI

Vets 1st XI

Vets 2nd XI

Association Trophy Winners

Association Best and Fairest Winners

1st Grade – Feaver Medallist

2nd Grade – Lomax Medallist

• Tied Result

Teams of the Century

External Links

• Belgrave Cricket Club
• Ferntree Gully and District Cricket Association
• Cricket Victoria