1964-65

NOTABLE GAINS: Peter Barrett, Col Marshall, Michael Muldoon, Bill Thompson
NOTABLE LOSSES: Doug Johnstone, Nigel Richardson

The grand success in growing the club from the mid fifties had provided a junior program which was beginning to reap rewards as players like Geoff Marshall, Bob Brennan & Keith McIntyre and to a lesser extent Ray Reeves, Bruce McClenaghan and Greg Russell moved up into the higher grades and proved their worth ... but it wasn't winning A Grade premierships. January was always a struggle to put teams on the paddock and even though the B Grade had forfeited a few times in the previous season, it had made a bright start in 1964-65. When January hit this season and six were needed in A Grade and a further five in Reserves, B Grade was again sacrificed and this time, it never resurfaced. Some of the pick such as R McIntyre and particularly Peter Barrett came up to the Reserves and easily kept their place but for youngsters like Michael Muldoon, it meant he had nowhere to go on a Saturday afternoon. Barrett was, along with Brian Roberts in A Grade, the bowler of the year, with 51 wickets in Reserve and B Grades.

It would be a long while until the club was able to stretch to having a third team again.

A Grade

The most successful season for three years with a settled batting line-up based on the first four of Alan Gray, Eric Smith, Geoff Marshall and Alan Cox and the pace penetration of Brian Roberts and Terry Mackenzie in the first half of the season and the spin of Eric Smith, supported by Marshall in the second half. Smith had actually taken up the wicket keeping duties and didn't bowl until the last game before Christmas. Keith McIntyre, who had kept for most of the previous season was again in the side for January but was again replaced when Bill Thompson, an outstanding batsman/keeper, joined the club in February.

Waratahs had a powerful start to the season, getting to Christmas unbeaten. Easts set them a stiff total just short of 200 in the first match, after Roberts took four wickets, but the batting was strong with everyone making a solid start in a five wicket win and Gray was unlucky to miss a century. Marshall shone against University II with a powerful half century and a few wickets in the low scoring draw. Waratahs came within a wicket of outrighting the power Public Service in a match controlled from start to finish. Mackenzie took six in the first innings before Marshall hit another strong half century, with Alan Cox batting well on his return. Brian Roberts took eight of the nine second innings wickets and eleven for the match. Going one better in the next game, a low scoring game that twisted and turned until Gray and Smith batted so confidently on the last afternoon to secure a nine wicket victory. Cox and Brennan batted well under pressure in the first innings but it was the bowling of Roberts, who took twelve wickets and Mackenzie who got all the good scalps in the first innings, which delivered this emphatic win against a dangerous enemy. Common sense and solid batting kept them unbeaten with a draw against University I and then a wonderful batting display against Churches gave them first innings points. Bowling for the first time in the season, Smith joined forces with Mackenzie to finally end the Churches innings. On the second day, Waratahs breezed past Churches score, still only three wickets down. Smith made a glorious hundred and was enjoy his best form in three or four seasons. R Porter made an unbeaten 71 and everyone got a few, including Reserves leading batsman, Allan Smith. Come Christmas, Waratahs were suddenly the side to beat, although, the perennially strong Ex Services were yet to be played.

January was a disaster. Ex Services were first up and Waratahs without Gray, Smith, Marshall and Mackenzie were suddenly very exposed with both bat and ball and Ex Services Ian McLean tore them apart and they lost outright. John Henderson and the Easts batting line-up had a day out against an improved bowling line-up but this time, no Roberts and rain on the second day robbed Waratahs the chance of chasing 300. R McNaught, a student from Duntroon visiting relatives in Armidale, took five wickets in his one appearance. Public Service's Phil McCann treated a now full strength bowling line-up with disdain and despite Beck and Watson, Waratahs didn't get within 200 of them. Gray and Smith steadied the ship to avoid the outright. This win put Public Service just ahead of Waratahs for second place and in a season where there would be no semi-finals, just a final between the top two finishers, this wasn't good enough. Both sides won the next match, Waratahs against Uralla with Marshall just missing his maiden A Grade ton with Allan Cash and Gray in solid support and then Roberts and Marshall sharing the wickets. It was Marshall catching Walter Taylor of his own bowling which turned the game.

Knowing they needed an outright win to displace Public Service and with two games left, they chased hard. Against TAS on a wet track at Backfield, W Hutchinson cut through all but Cox who made more than half the score. Smith bamboozled the TAS batsmen to wrap up the first points and Cox and Gray got quick runs to set a target. In the end, Waratahs had to defend the total. Churches effectively dashed Waratahs hopes with steady batting to 202, including a Ross Ridley seventy, in the last game. Not to be outdone, the batsmen led by new man Bill Thompson, Cash & Gray thrashed the Churches attack and were 2-87 by stumps on the first day. They declared when they passed Churches on the second, 117 runs coming in the first hour of the day. Unfortunately, Churches then batted out the rest of the afternoon as Waratahs threw everything a Churches.

January had cost them the chance of a premiership.

Finally trusted to do a job and maintained in the first four in the order, Geoff Marshall (347 runs at 34.70) was the leading batsman. Alan Gray (335) as dependable as ever, Alan Cox (271) and Eric Smith (253) made a solid first four. Cash and Porter might have featured if they played more games and Bill Thompson gave an exciting taste of what lay ahead. Brian Roberts (41 wickets & 12.29) was far and away the best bowler and he was missed from mid November until late January. Terry Mackenzie (21) showed some of his best form for years and Eric Smith (20) certainly added to the side when he gave the big gloves away. Geoff Marshall (16 wickets at 30.94) was very expensive but had the habit of taking the "big" wickets and he was the leading catcher.

A Reserve Grade

Like A Grade, the games after Christmas bought the Reserves but they didn't didn't come out of the tail spin. After losing two of the first three games, their run to Christmas was impressive, having them placed within reach of a final spot but those results in the second half were killers, especially two outright lossess to Uralla, one of which they led until the last hour of the game. Allan Smith was consistent all season and a new player, Paul Muldoon was reliable with the bat. Keith McIntyre, unlucky not have played more A Grade this season, was one of the side's best. John Russell had become auseful wicket taking bowler and J Woodward broke through in the early part of the season but it was the games Peter Barrett played both before and after the collapse of B Grade, which impressed the most with the ball.

The first game was lost to University II, with reasonable comfort after Woodward, Smith and Gordon Lee all made thirties. Smith led the batting to a good total against Vampires who capitulated against R Russell and Woodward in the first innings and Barrett and Paul Muldoon in the second. St Peters won comfortably but the batting of Greg Russell and Woodward was much improved second time round and Muldoon scored runs in both innings. Then three wins: Hillgrove very easily, when Woodward top scored and took cheap wickets in his last game and Muldoon batted well again; Uralla were done over on the basis of a good first innings score which featured half centuries to McIntyre and Smith; and YCW fell foul of a one game wonder, K Colley who took six of their wickets and a Keith McIntyre powerhouse innings which really did deserve a hundred.

There is no record of either the last game before or the first game after Christmas. In late January, Public Service smashed up three hundred with only half the side out. On the second day, thanks to Greg Russell (91), Keith McIntyre (55) and contributions from the reliable Muldoon, A Chisholm and Porter, Waratahs got within 36 of Public Service in probably their best batting display of the year. In the next game, John Russell, Greg Russell and Smith got the total over a hundred but it was enough when Peter Barrett took five wickets. Batting a second time, everyone got a few but no one took off. Barrett took wichets again but Uralla batted themselves to an outright. TAS were outbatted by R Farrell, Greg Russell and Chisholm and then Farrell and Ray Reeves wrapped up the win. In a trick of programming, Uralla were up again and the result was the same without Waratahs leading on the first innings. In the last hour of the game, Waratahs were dismissed for their second lowest team score on record in Reserve Grade. In the last game, they never had enough runs to play with and again it was Muldoon and Smith who held the batting together.

As not all innings are recorded in the Armidale Express for this season, averages have to be disregarded and players certainly scored more runs and took more wickets than we can record. Allan Smith (401) was the leading run scorer, with Keith McIntyre (279), Greg Russell (277) and Paul Muldoon (215) all doing their share in the batting order. John Russell (24 wickets) was the leading bowler and Peter Barrett (18) certainly in just than half a season of appearances.

B Grade

It's hard to fathom how so much can go wrong so quickly but this side which only two years earlier had been emphatically winning the premiership, would last only to Christmas and then, with pressure on numbers across the club, begin a strong of cascading forfeits which see it disappear. There was no sign of doom in September, despite a bad start ...

Charlton and R McIntyre batted Waratahs into a handy position on the first day and McClenaghan and Barrett made early inroads into Baptists top order but they went in front and were eventually out at tea on the second day. From there it went wrong and Waratahs only just made Baptists bat again and the match was lost outright. The second game, a one dayer because of first day rain, saw Teachers College out cheaply but Waratahs out cheaper. Charlton had taken a bag of five and Mitchell made more than half the runs. Dumaresq II then just made a mess of the 'tahs, scoring a hundred odd against Barrett's fivefa and then washing through Waratahs (16 & 48) like salts to an upset stomach. Mitchell got half the total again in the second dig. Waratahs had a much improved next match against TAS. Batting first, P Newsome finished close to a hundred and R McIntyre provided steady support. TAS passed Waratahs nine down and with Peter Barrett (9-85) taking a career best. Waratahs got some batting practice on the second day. This was a result to bring spirit back.

The batting failed again on the first day against Churches and at stumps, both sides had batted and Waratahs was 96 behind. On the second day, Nott, McIntyre and Barrett got their heads down and batted Waratahs to a slender lead of 47 before the final wicket fell. Churches, batting two short, were rolled with the two Barrett boys sharing the spoils and Waratahs won outright by 1 run! To prove it wasn't a fluke, Barrett took another five wicket haul against City Council and Waratahs batted into a 67 run lead, Nott the star and Hooper playing one of those support roles he played so well. City Council fell apart under the bowling of a part-timer, Dawson who collected his first bag and Waratahs had won another game outright.

In the last game before Christmas, Waratahs had struggled from behind against a strong Public Service side but had managed to set a target again, with Peter Barrett (6-36) again leading the way. They lost the game on the first innings as Public Service pushed for the outright.

This was Christmas, with spirits on the upswing and much improved results. Unfortunately, that's where it ended. It would be nearly ten years until Waratahs would field another B Grade team.

There is not a lot to report on in regard end of season stats. In fact Peter Barrett (33 wickets) is the only outstanding achiever. Ian Nott (169 runs) had the most recorded runs.