Don Goodsell (1933-2018)

Former Nowra cricketer Donald Bruce Goodsell who died in August aged 84 years, had the rare distinction of playing in premiership teams in first, second and third grades.

He was the youngest of three brothers to show out in Shoalhaven competitions, after Aub and Bob.

Starting as a teenager in third grade in 1948-49, Don played in successive grand finals and enjoyed grand final success in his second season.

A team-mate in both those teams was Dig Aldous who would become one of the district’s most prominent players.

After missing several seasons, Don returned in 1956-57 with Nowra’s Waratah side in second grade, taking 6/37 and 4/31 in a game against Bomaderry which would remain a career best.

After spending 1957-58 in first grade, he returned to seconds the following season as an improved batsman, compiling 309 runs and he was rewarded with a second grade flag.

The summer of 1962-63 produced three scores over 50 and a second grade semi-final.

Don hit his maiden century in 1963-64 – an unbeaten 103 out of 5/174 against Tomerong, and he won a club trophy for most catches.

His best season was 1964-65 when he hit 160 not out against Warriors at the Added Area, sharing a huge stand with brother Bob who made 170. It was the first time brothers had scored centuries in the same second grade match.

After a relative failure of 32 against Kangaroo Valley, he scored 110 against the home team at Berry, and 171 against Greenwell Point in the semi-final at the Added Area.

It was the only time in SDCA history that a second grade player had scored three centuries from four knocks.

In the semi-final he shared an opening stand of 183 with Reg Crump, and went on to hit 23 fours and a six in his total.

He followed it up with 5/30 in the Point innings, becoming only the second allrounder to score a century and take five wickets in a second grade semi-final. However Nowra failed to win the grand final.

After such a productive season, it was natural that Don should again move into first grade.

He responded with 54 in the 1965-66 semi-final against Ex-Servicemen; and his 3/26 in the grand final win included both Berry openers.

There was another first grade premiership in 1967-68, after which Don spent his last two seasons in seconds, each producing three half-centuries.

Available records show that he scored four centuries and passed 50 on 13 other occasions, mainly in second grade; while as a bowler he had seven bags of five or more wickets.

He was appointed coach of the association under 14 team in 1969-70, and had charge of both 14s and 15s in 1970-71.

Wayne Asher (1947-2018)

A funeral service was held on July 19 at Nowra Golf Club for Wayne Colin Asher, who was a successful Shoalhaven cricketer during the 1970s. Born in Queensland, Wayne had been posted by the Royal Australian Navy to HMAS Albatross by the summer of 1972-73 when he was a member of the Cambetross third grade premiership combination.

After a two-year break, he joined Kangaroo Valley and appeared in three successive second grade grand finals including the back-to-back premierships of 1975-76 and 1976-77.

Usually a wicketkeeper and middle order batsman, he made his highest score of 62 not out against Bomaderry RSL/Aussie Rules in 1977-78.

His final season with the Valley was 1979-80 when he gloved 16 catches and made two stumpings.

Les Harris (1933-2018)

Late July saw the Shoalhaven sporting fraternity mourn the death of Leslie Harris, aged 85 years. Although rugby league was his major interest, Les enjoyed four seasons of first grade cricket with Nowra in the 1960s.

A notable performance in his first season (1964-65) was hitting 26 and 44 to top-score in each innings of a match against Albatross. However his major contributions were with the ball as he appeared in grand finals the following three seasons.

With 21 wickets at 11.62 in 1965-66, he had a best of 6/47 against Trojans. In the grand final when he featured in the attack with Bob Evison, Geoff Stanton and Don Goodsell, Les took two top order wickets in each Berry innings.

After Nowra lost a hard-fought grand final to Ex-Servicemen the following year, it was back on top in 1967-68 with a comfortable win over Berry for another premiership. The best analysis for Les during that summer was 6/52 against Bomaderry.

Wayne Phillips (1956-2018)

Bay and Basin Cricket Club was saddened by the passing in July of Wayne Norman Phillis, aged 62 years. He held a special place in the club’s history for when it played under the banner of Central Districts in 2003-04, Wayne led the club to its first fourth grade premiership.

It was a closely-fought grand final against Culburra, and he made some vital runs to top score for Central, which enabled him to share the celebration with son Andrew.

His earliest stints in Shoalhaven cricket were with Huskisson RSL where his two seasons were eight years apart. After RSL participated in the merger to form Central Districts, Wayne made a comeback in 1996-97 to play alongside Andrew. The following year his contributions in fourth grade were rewarded with the Club President’s Award.

The 1998-99 season was his best statistically, for it saw his highest SDCA score of 61 against Berry-Shoalhaven Heads. However Wayne’s career was not necessarily about runs and wickets, as shown in 1999-2000 when he shared the clubperson of the year award.

After leading Central to the premiership, he felt he had more to offer the club and gained his level one coaching qualification in 2004-05. The following season he appeared in his 100th game with the club, and he continued on the playing field until 2007-08.

Fred Carriage (1939-2018)

Ulladulla United Cricket Club mourned the death in August of Frederick Thomas Carriage, aged 79 years. A veteran of the sport in southern Shoalhaven, he was one of the diminishing group who played prior to the amalgamation that saw the formation of Ulladulla United some 50 years ago.

His all-round ability was shown with Milton second grade team in 1965-66. Playing against Nowra Warriors, he took 4/37 including a hat-trick, and hit an unbeaten 42.

The following season he was with Burrill Lake, being in its semi-final line-up.

In the early years of United, he appeared spasmodically in either first or second grade, and there was a spell of 4/14 against Berry seconds in 1973-74.

After five years out of the game, Fred made a comeback in 1979-80 when he played several games alongside his son Shane. The following year he was playing thirds with another son, Paul.

His last games were in second grade during the summer of 1985-86. However he found another way of becoming involved in the sport, by becoming curator of the wicket at Lighthouse Oval.

His efforts in that area were recognised by the association in 2008-09 when he was named curator of the year.

Peter Geyer (c1935-2018)

Peter Raymond Geyer, who died in September aged 83 years, enjoyed some success during his relatively brief time in Shoalhaven cricket, and impressed with his knowledge of the game.

He came to the district in 1971 to take charge of Pyree Public School, and would prove to be the last teacher there.

The nearest cricket club was at Greenwell Point, and late in the 1971-72 season Peter played a few second grade games, top-scoring in each innings against Berry.

He was the team’s star in 1972-73, producing a double of 72 not out and 6/28 early in the summer against Ex-Servicemen.

That paved the way for his taking out the association’s second grade allrounder trophy, after being second in both batting and bowling averages.

On nine occasions he top-scored and went on to score 353 runs at 58.8, while his 26 wickets cost only 7.3 runs apiece.

Peter accepted the position of association recorder in 1973-74, but rarely played after that.

He maintained an interest in the game through his sons Kevin and Basil, who started with Tomerong but later joined Bomaderry where they were first grade premiership players.

A regular at junior representative fixtures involving his sons, Peter also enjoyed watching them in senior matches.