Stirling Cricket Club

The Stirling Cricket Club has won numerous premierships in its 140-year history. It is probably the most successful Hills club in terms of total premierships, although its long history gives it an advantage.

Records of premierships are not 100% accurate, however we know the club has won at least 20 A grade senior titles. We estimate that it has won 12 B grade titles. The earliest recorded A-grade flags were three consecutive titles from 1899-1900 to 1901-02.

The club entered a particularly strong period in the late 1970s and 1980s. The A grade won flags in 1975-76, 1977-78, 1978-79, 1980/81, 1987-88, 1991-92 and 1993-94, and were regular finalists in other years. The B grade also won three flags in the early 1990s.

The introduction of C and D grade into the Association in 1980 turbocharged senior cricket in the Hills, and Stirling CC was no exception – in some years the club fielded teams in all four grades.

1993-94 was a memorable year from the club. It won the A, B and D grade premierships as well as the inter-association Courier Super Challenge. The headline in the Courier newspaper of 30 March 1994 was ‘Invincible Stirling’.

The club entered a leaner period in the late ‘90s and 2000s, and briefly left the top flight in the early 2010s. But after a 23-year drought the Club lifted the B grade Collins Shield in 2015-16. Captained by club president Peter Fryer, the Eagles defeated reigning premier Bridgewater by 70 runs (120 all out to 50 all out) on 19 March 2016 at Balhannah Oval.

Then, in a culmination of several years of hard off-field work, the Jack Pick-led A grade won the premiership in 2021-22, ending a 28-year wait by defeating powerhouse Meadows at Meadows Oval. It followed this up in 2022-23 with a ‘back-to-back’ triumph against Mt Lofty at Heathfield Oval.

To top this off, in the same year the Stirling B grade ‘Beagles’, helmed by Sam Johnson, defeated Aldgate at Aldgate Oval in a thriller by 7 runs to claim the Collins Shield again.

In the C and D grade formats the club has won 4 C grade and 5 D grade titles, with the most recent being a 1999-2000 C grade crown in which Paul ‘Tossa’ Horsnell struck 80 not out in the grand final.

Juniors

The club’s juniors have also tasted plenty of success, with at least 5 titles in under 16/17 (or ‘Colts’) and 6 in under 14/15 - mostly since 2008. The most recent under 16 flag was in 2019-20.