Only once since the first ball was bowled during the Shoalhaven District Cricket Association's inaugural season in 1892-93 has Nowra not fielded a side.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
That year was 1951-52.
Since then, Nowra Cricket Club rebuilt itself to win 13 two-day (most recently in 2006-07) and five one-day (most recently in 2020-21) premierships in first grade, not to mention plenty others in the lower grades.
However, after fielding just three teams last season (first, second and third grade), the Nowra Showground-based club will not be represented during the 2021-22 SDCA season.
"It is really disappointing to not be able to field a team this season," Nowra Cricket Club president Jono Clack said.
"Nowra is such a proud club and one of the oldest clubs in the area, to see it come to this is disheartening, to say the least."
That poses the question, where to next the region's last foundation club?
Will they, who potentially could have fielded two teams this summer, follow in the footsteps of now-defunct clubs Coolangatta, Currambene, Kangaroo Valley, Numbaa and Pyree, or will it merge with another club as Berry and Cambewarra did?
"The way grassroots cricket is heading is too demanding for the new age cricketers," Clack said.
"Nowra identified this and put a scenario, to modify the competition structure, to the SDCA and the other clubs.
"If our suggestion had been adopted, Nowra would have fielded at least two teams.
"Unfortunately, the SDCA didn't identify, the demanding nature of Saturday afternoon cricket as a problem and rejected our suggestion.
"This resulted in Nowra pulling two potential teams and Shoalhaven cricket losing potentially 22 players from the game."
Clack admits this scenario had been on the horizon for some time, especially as the club hasn't fielded a junior team for close to a decade.
"Juniors are the future of sports clubs, so the fact we haven't had any teams in years has severely hurt us," he said.
"If you don't have players coming through, eventually the older players will give the game away and you're left with no one to replace them - which is the predicament we find ourselves in."
Clack quashed claims this could be the end of the Nowra Cricket Club.
"Hopefully, we will be able to rebuild and return to the competition," he said.
"We know a lot of players who have had enough and needed a break.
"Our plan is to reboot the club and keep in contact with all our members.
"We will do our utmost to retain interested players and recruit more faces for the future, would have obviously proved tricky in the past.
"As well as us doing our part, more incentive needs to come from above - unfortunately, we can't force people to play the game.
"The higher powers, such the SDCA, the Greater Illawarra Cricket Zone and Cricket NSW, need to step away from what is the traditional format.
"Past, present and hopefully future players need to be enticed to give up their Saturdays with family and friends and play the game.
"To achieve this, I think cricket needs to have variation and it needs to be enjoyable."
We depend on subscription revenue to support our journalism. If you are able, please subscribe here. If you are already a subscriber, thank you for your support.