Victorian Premier Cricket

Victorian Premier Cricket

Administrator	Cricket Victoria
Format	2-day matches (with 1-day matches)
First edition	1906–07
Tournament format	home and away
Number of teams	18
Current champion	Fitzroy Doncaster
Most successful	19 Melbourne
Most runs	Warren Ayres (15,277)
Most wickets	Bert Ironmonger (862)

Victorian Premier Cricket is a club cricket competition in the state of Victoria administered by Cricket Victoria. Each club fields four teams (firsts through to fourths) of adult players and usually play on weekends and public holidays. Matches are played on turf wickets under limited-time rules, with most results being decided on a first-innings basis. Outstanding players in the competition are selected to play for the Victorian Bushrangers at first-class and List A level, in the Sheffield Shield and Ryobi Cup competitions respectively. The competition commenced in the 1906–07 season when it was known as "District cricket", and was renamed in 1990. Separate competitions for one-day matches (2002–03) and Twenty20 (2005–06) were later established.

History

Inter-club cricket in Melbourne had its beginnings during the 1850s, with matches arranged on an informal basis. The newspapers usually decided the season's best team via the consensus of journalists. In 1870, the Challenge Cup was introduced, beginning an era of more structured competition.

For the 1889–90 season, a program of Pennant Matches was devised over eight rounds, which began the era of club competition recognisable today. The original competing teams were Carlton, East Melbourne, Essendon, Fitzroy, Melbourne, North Melbourne, Port Melbourne, Richmond, St Kilda, South Melbourne, University and Williamstown. There were no restriction on the recruitment of players and the stronger clubs (such as East Melbourne, Melbourne and South Melbourne) attracted the leading players, and other teams remained very weak. By the turn of the twentieth century, the unevenness of the competition resulted in a lack of public support.

The solution was found in "electorate" or "District" cricket whereby players needed a residential qualification to play for their club. In 1903, a VCA sub-committee recommended the implementation of the system. Due to many differences of opinion (most notably, the powerful Melbourne Cricket Club dissented), District cricket did not commence until 1906.

The twelve inaugural District teams were Carlton, Collingwood (newly formed), East Melbourne, Essendon, Fitzroy, Hawksburn (which became Prahran the following year), Melbourne, North Melbourne, Richmond, St Kilda, South Melbourne and University. A promotion and relegation system between two grades was originally envisioned, and the premier club of second grade, Northcote, was promoted for 1907–08. However, the last-placed Collingwood was retained and the relegation idea dispensed with. The second grade were re-constituted as the Victorian Sub-District competition, comprising Brighton, Caulfield, Coburg, Elsternwick, Hawthorn, Malvern, Port Melbourne and Williamstown.

The uneven number of teams necessitated a bye, which remained 1929–30 when the VCA Colts team was included. The Colts team competed for eleven seasons but disbanded during World War II. Matches continued through the war (although they were not for points) and Footscray was admitted for 1948–49 to eliminate the bye. The next expansion occurred in 1974 when two clubs representing outer-suburban areas, Ringwood and Waverley, were promoted from Sub-District. Eighteen sides have participated since 1993–94 when teams from Geelong and the Mornington Peninsula were admitted. The finals system, previously consisting of four teams, was enlarged to a final six in 1997–98 season. And finally changing to a final 8.

Current clubs

Colours	Club	Emblem	Formed	Home ground	1st XI titles	First competed	Note
Black, White, Green and Gold	Camberwell Magpies	Magpies	1906	Camberwell Sports Ground, Camberwell	4	1906–07	Inaugural club (Collingwood); amalgamated with Camberwell (Sub-District) in 1996-97
	Carlton	Blues	1864	Princes Park, North Carlton	8	1906–07	Inaugural club
	Casey-South Melbourne	Swans	1862	Casey Fields, Cranbourne East	3	1906–07	Inaugural club (South Melbourne), relocated and renamed in 2005-06
	Dandenong	Panthers	1908	Shepley Oval, Dandenong	2	1974–75	Promoted from Sub-District in 1974-75 as Waverley; amalgamated with and moved to Dandenong (Sub-District) in 1989-90 as Waverley-Dandenong; renamed Dandenong-Waverley in 1992-93; renamed Dandenong in 1994-95
	Essendon	Bombers	1872	Windy Hill, Essendon	2	1906–07	Inaugural club
	Fitzroy Doncaster	Lions		Schramm's Reserve, Doncaster	9	1906–07	Inaugural club (Fitzroy); amalgamated with Doncaster (Sub-District) in 1986-87
	Footscray-Edgewater	Bulldogs		Merv Hughes Oval, Footscray	2	1948–49	Promoted from Sub-District in 1948 as Footscray; renamed in 2004-05
	Frankston Peninsula	Heat		AH Butler Oval, Frankston	0	1993–94	Promoted from Sub-District in 1993-94
	Geelong	Cats		Kardinia Park, Geelong	0	1993–94	Promoted from Sub-District in 1993-94
	Greenvale	Kangaroos		Greenvale Recreation Reserve, Greenvale	0	1906–07	Inaugural club (North Melbourne); temporarily amalgamated with Geelong (sub-district) as North Melbourne–Geelong from 1985-86 until 1987-88; amalgamated with and moved to Greenvale in 2013-14
	Kingston Hawthorn	Hawks	1860	Walter Galt Reserve, Parkdale	9	1906–07	Inaugural club (East Melbourne); amalgamated with and moved to Hawthorn (Sub-District) in 1921-22 as Hawthorn-East Melbourne; moved to Waverley and renamed Hawthorn in 1989-90; amalgamated with Monash University (Sub-District) in 2001-02 as Hawthorn-Monash University and moved to the Monash University Sports Complex in Clayton in 2004; amalgamated with Kingston Saints (Sub-District) in 2015-16 and moved to Parkdale as Kingston Hawthorn.
	Melbourne	Demons	1838	Albert Cricket Ground, Melbourne	20	1906–07	Inaugural club, but ineligible for the premiership until 1914–15
	Monash	Tigers	1854	Central Reserve, Glen Waverley	6	1906–07	Inaugural club (Richmond); relocated to Glen Waverley in 2010-11, and changed its trading name to Monash Tigers in 2013-14 (although the club is legally still known as Richmond).
	Northcote	Dragons		Bill Lawry Oval, Northcote	5	1907–08	Promoted from Sub-District 1907-08
	Prahran	True Blues		Toorak Park, Armadale	7	1906–07	Inaugural club (Hawksburn); renamed Prahran in 1907-08.
	Ringwood	Rams		Jubilee Park, Ringwood	3	1974–75	Promoted from Sub-District 1974
	St Kilda	Saints	1855	Junction Oval, St Kilda	18	1906–07	Inaugural club
	University	Students	1856	University of Melbourne campus, Parkville	3	1906–07	Inaugural club

Premierships correct to the end of 2015/16 season.

Ryder Medal

First presented in 1972–73, the award for the best player of the season is named after Jack Ryder, the former Australian captain who had a long and distinguished career with Collingwood.

Season	Player	Team	Biography link
1972–73	Ron Bird	Collingwood	[1]
1973–74	John Grant	Essendon	[2]
1974–75	John Grant	Essendon
1975–76	Keith Stackpole	Carlton
1976–77	John Shepherd	Footscray	[3]
1977–78	Keith Stackpole	Carlton
1978–79	Keith Stackpole	Carlton
1979–80	Barry Watson	Footscray	[4]
1980–81	Gary Cosier	Northcote
1981–82	Mick Taylor	South Melbourne
1982–83	John Douglas	Carlton	[5]
1983–84	Trevor Laughlin	Collingwood
1984–85	Andrew Wildsmith	Northcote	[6]
1985–86	Michael Ephraims	Prahran	[7]
1986–87	Warren Whiteside	St Kilda	[8]
1987–88	Wayne N. Phillips	South Melbourne
1988–89	Richard McCarthy	North Melbourne	[9]
1989–90	Warren Whiteside	St Kilda
1990–91	Warren Whiteside	St Kilda
1991–92	Mark Ridgway	Fitzroy/Doncaster	[10]
1992–93	Mark Leehane	Essendon	[11]
1993–94	Gary Watts	Fitzroy/Doncaster	[12]
1994–95	Warren Ayres	Melbourne
1995–96	Brendan Joyce	Fitzroy/Doncaster	[13]
1996–97	Ian Wrigglesworth	Carlton	[14]
1997–98	PQ Harper	University
1998–99	Abdul Qadir	Carlton
1999–2000	Carl Hooper	Carlton
2000–01 (tied)	Paul Collingwood DM Dempsey	Richmond Ringwood
2001–02	Warren Ayres	Melbourne
2002–03	CBD Street	Fitzroy/Doncaster
2003–04 (tied)	RA Bartlett Adam Dale	Northcote North Melbourne
2004–05	Simon Dart	Hawthorn/Monash Uni.
2005–06 (tied)	MD Allen Graeme Rummans	Carlton St Kilda
2006–07	Graeme Rummans	St Kilda
2007–08	Steven Spoljaric	Hawthorn/Monash Uni.
2008–09	Gareth Cross	St Kilda
2009–10	Graeme Rummans	St Kilda
2010–11	Theo Doropoulos	Northcote
2011–12	Clive Rose	Casey-South Melbourne
2012-13	Brenton McDonald	Melbourne
2013-14	James Miller	Prahran
2014-15	Ian Holland	Ringwood

John Scholes Medal

Presented in season 2001–02 under the name of Cricket Victoria Medal, the John Scholes medal is awarded to the best player in the Victorian Premier Cricket 1st XI final. The name was changed for the 2003–04 season.

Season	Player	Team
2001–02	JL Travaglia	Fitz Donc
2002–03	GC Rummans	St Kilda
2003–04	GC Rummans	St Kilda
2004–05	TDB O'Sullivan	St Kilda
2005–06	M Klinger	St Kilda
2006–07	PM Boraston	Dandenong
2007–08	MR King	Ringwood
2008–09	ST Gilmour	Ringwood
2009–10	RJ Cooper	Melbourne
2010–11	JL Pattinson	Dandenong
2011–12	WD Sheridan	Richmond
2012-13	Matthew Begbie	Melbourne CC
2013-14	S Dissanayaka	Footscray-Edgewater
2014-15	Ian Holland	Ringwood
2015-16	Peter Dickson	Fitzroy Doncaster

Amalgamations

In the post-war period, the competition has faced the challenge of periodic restructuring to reflect the growing metropolitan area of Melbourne. This has been achieved by amalgamating and relocating clubs. In 1985 Fitzroy moved its base to Doncaster, forming Fitzroy/Doncaster. Similarly, in 1989, Hawthorn/East Melbourne relocated to Glen Waverley in the eastern suburbs, and was later renamed Hawthorn/Waverley in 1994. The club merged with Sub-District club Monash University, to become Hawthorn/Monash University seven years later. The move of Hawthorn/East Melbourne caused Waverley to move to Dandenong, and the new team played as Waverley/Dandenong, but dropped Waverley from its name for the 1994–95 season.

Two more inner-suburban clubs have reorganised. Prior to the 1996–97 season, Collingwood left Victoria Park and amalgamated with Sub-District club Camberwell to become Camberwell Magpies based at the Camberwell Sports Ground, while prior to the 2000–01 season, Footscray became Footscray/Victoria University. The latter club is now known as Footscray Edgewater due to a unique business partnership with the residential development adjoining its home ground, the Merv Hughes Oval.

Administration

Victorian Premier Cricket is run by the Cricket Victoria's Pennant Committee, which deals with grounds, fixtures, playing dates, venues, umpires, ladders, player eligibility and registrations, disputes, rules, etc., are overseen by the Pennant Committee. The Pennant Committee comprises five delegates elected at the AGM of Cricket Victoria held every August. Currently, the members are Russell Thomas (Chairman), Kevan Carroll, John Malligan, John McConville and Ken Stone. Matters concerning player behaviour are dealt with a tribunal convened by Cricket Victoria and is made up of an independent chairman two Pennant Committee members, providing that their club is not involved in the match in question.

See also

• Cricket in Australia

External links

• List of 1st XI premiers
• Official website