1958-59: B Grade semi-finalists

NOTABLE GAINS: John Failes, Col Marshall, Don Paul, Nigel Richardson, Ray Rose
NOTABLE LOSSES: nil

The A Grade side, under the leadership of Eric Smith, batted well as a team in this dry summer with the experienced Alan Gray and Hugh Ferris at the top of the order and a host of good support from the likes of Doug Johnstone, keeper batsman Morse, Smith himself and Don Paul when available. It wasn't batting that was the problem. The bowling attack depended on Eric Smith's well flighted spin but the faster men were increasingly toothless tigers. John Carr's left arm quicks were missed after Christmas and among a succession of others, the best were R Perrau who just couldn't breakthrough opposition top orders and Brian Richardson, whose star was waning. Even Vic Snell reappeared in mid January for one game. A bright light in all of this was J Walsh, promoted to the top grade after two seasons butchery in B Grade, where he led the batting and bowling stocks and although he made a slow start with the big boys, by season's end he was standing on both feet and taking on the best.

After a first up narrow win against Wests in which Don Paul played the major hand, three losses, including an outright loss to the Armidale Teachers College, sent fortunes plummeting. The batsmen were facing too many runs. Then, Easts were beaten at West Armidale Park thanks to Alan Gray (71 & 35x) and Eric Smith (7-34) and the imposing Ex Services were easily accounted for, Smith (6-57 & 47) performing with bat and ball. Walsh gave his first quality A Grade input and the batting line up clicked, with six of the batsmen making useful contributions. The first half of the season ended with another down turn as Public Services' Christmas present was a crushing outright defeat based on a huge first innings score where there was no Smith or Paul to face and a string of part timers. Morse (43x) and Johnstone (52x) batted well in either innings but fair efforts were not enough to avoid a nine wicket defeat.

Rain turned the first game in January into a high scoring one day game against Uralla. Chasing over two hundred thanks to an unbeaten Frank Taylor ton, Waratahs held out for a draw with Walsh scoring his first A grade half century and Morse, Brian Richardson and Johnstone batting well. Back at the Sportsground, the batsmen, led by an unbeaten Paul and an in form Walsh ran up a good total against Wests and Smith (6-17) did the rest. At West Armidale Park the following match, the pace of Walsh and the spin of Smith and Paul rolled Uralla Rovers twice under a hundred or a perfect track and Waratahs won by an innings after Paul (95) and Morse (43) led the way to a big total. It was a win that lifted Waratahs to 3rd place with two matches to play.

In the penultimate game, the bowling clicked and even thought Smith (6-65) took most of the wickets, everyone bowled well. Morse continued his excellent work behind the stumps with two stumpings. The only concern was the late wag of the Ex Services tail by Tom Sattler and Rene Mullen, which put another 35 on the total when the innings looked over. At 2-52 overnight, Waratahs was well in the game. The second day was a story told through the wicked grin of 'Shakes' Mullen, who bowled unchanged and took seven wickets, four of them bowled and Smith lbw. Waratahs lost the game by 24 and Ex Services batted on and on a second time round.

Needing to win against Easts to qualify for the semis, the first day was a day out for the Waratahs early batsmen, as Hugh Ferris, Morse and Gray took the total to 1-126 just before tea. As the biscuits were being laid out on plates, Ferris played on and was followed hastily by Johnstone, Smith and Walsh. Perrau and Gordon Lee led the recovery and 214 was posted. Easts finished the day 160 behind with all wickets intact. Day two was Easts turn to dominate and taking first innings points and the last place in the semis from Waratahs with only five wickets down, they batted on until all eleven Waratahs men had bowled in order to get them out.

Alan Gray (372) scored the most runs and Don Paul (285 at 57.00) had the best batting average thanks to more than half his few innings being not out. Other batsmen to score well were Hugh Ferris (355), Eric Smith (303), Doug Johnstone (300) and P Morse (280). Smith (52 at 13.69)was again the outstanding bowler, the next best, J Walsh (19), Don Paul (16) and John Carr (15), being a long way back. Walsh was the season's big improver after starting his A Grade career with 1 against Wests and a pair against Uralla Rovers, his 199 runs and 19 wickets were a good return.

B Grade
The B Grade competition was expanded in 1958-59, in that it became a two day competition. In previous seasons, all the matches had been played as a one day format. The nucleus of the Waratahs B Grade team was a group of players, most of whom had allround skills but some specialists and after only two seasons in competition, the transition to longer cricket, with the demands it places on batting skills, did put this team under pressure. It's saving grace, was it's outstanding fielding and the ferrocious bowling of Tony Morriss, who in only two seasons already had more than 100 wickets.

Fears about the strength of the batting seemed justified after initial losses to DLSC, where to be honest, it was the bowling which got worked over and in a double batting failure (48 & 86) in an outright loss to University. A new player, Graeme Hooper, help three catches at slip against DLSC. Nigel Richardson, dropped after an A Grade debut, was part of fly swatted crushing of TAS in which Tony Morriss took 6-29. Then Dumaresq were beaten outright in an extraordinary match in which their totals of 213 and 134 were chased down twice by Waratahs to get the majors. Richardson showed his colours with the ball. Waratahs collapsed on the first day against ATC I but played itself back into the match through Richardson (4-50 & 31) and G Whitton (34) to only lose on first innings. Waratahs got major points again in a low scoring seesaw against the second college side, Tony Morriss bagging eleven would-be teacher scalps and Ted Crotty scoring freely in low first innings. Like A Grade, Christmas Eve was a big blow with John Frost, parading as Hillgrove, just about single handedly beating them outright. Ron Marshall bowled well in a big total.

Things needed to improve after Christmas but they didn't, with losses to Ex Services and Public Service. Both games had been winable but batsmen got away when defending only moderate targets. There were no stars but useful contributions and John Russell's 3-48 against Ex Services was his first reasonable contribution in a long wicket-taking career for the club. With it all to play for, the next six weeks saw a remarkable change of form with outright wins against Postal Institute and Dumaresq and first innings points against DLSC II taking Waratahs, charging, into the semi finals. Ted Crotty and the returned Arty See were solid with the bat and although J McIntyre, Nigel Richardson and Arty See were consistent with the ball, it was Tony Morriss who tore a hole in the universe on the way to the semis. In those three games, he captured 23 wickets at 6.00, including ten in match against Postal Institute and first innings destruction jobs of 7-32 against Dumaresq and 5-28 against DLSC.

So to the semi-final against the premiership favourites Hillgrove and aware of the hatchet job done on them in late December by Hillgrove, this recharged outfit bowled brilliantly and routed Hillgrove for only 99, their lowest score of the season. Nigel Richardson had for once pipped Morriss for the most wickets! Unfortunately, Waratahs reply was still forty runs short and Hillgrove used the rest of the match for batting practice and Waratahs were frozen out by more Frosts than an Armidale winter.

As suspected, runs were in short supply but Ted Crotty (270) made more than Nigel Richardson (243) or Ron Marshall (239 at 18.38) who had the best batting average. Tony Morriss (61 wickets) exceded his own high bowling standard, including 7 five wicket in an innings and 2 ten wicket matches. Nigel Richardson (35 wickets) was a welcome newcomer and J McIntyre (23 at 10.35) had the best bowling average. In the field, another debutant, Graeme Hooper (12 catches) had safe hands, mostly at slip.