Alexandra & Eastern Hills Cricket Association
Life Members
The Alexandra & Eastern Hills Cricket Association has awarded Life Membership to 12 distinguished players and administrators since its formation in 1983/1984. Find out more information about each of them here.
Life Membership Nomination Criteria.
Minimum of 10 years’ service to the Association as a player, official and/or administrator; with consideration to having had a minimum of 20 years of Club service as a player, official and/or administrator.
Life Members
Perry Jones
Awarded Life Membership in 2005, Perry Jones is widely regarded as the most talented cricketer that the region has ever produced. A prodigiously talented left-arm bowler, Perry developed a reputation as a devastatingly accurate medium pace bowler who could generate significant pace, bounce, swing and seam. Over his long career he also proved to be a very handy batsman who registered a number of impressive centuries.
In addition to his long list of on-field achievements, Perry continues to be a dedicated volunteer and administrator. When the Strathalbyn Cricket Club reinstated the turf pitch at the Strathalbyn Oval in 1971, Perry volunteered to become the curator, a role he would hold for over 40 years. He has spent countless hours contributing to club and association committee meetings since 1967 where he has held a range of positions.
As a member of the Jones family who have long owned and operated the Southern Argus newspaper, Perry has taken lead responsibiltiy for ensuring the local sporting action is captured in print. All year round he can be seen at cricket ovals, tennis courts and football grounds snapping photos and compiling match reports.
Perry boasts a long list of achievements which are summarised below:
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Over 2,000 wickets across matches played for the Strathalbyn Cricket Club, Alexandra in the South Australian Country Carnival and the Association.
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Was awarded Strathalbyn ‘Cricketer of the Year’ six times.
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Scored 6 x A Grade centuries for Strathalbyn Cricket Club (the first at age 16).
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Took 77 wickets in the 1974/1975 season – including 13 in the Grand Final (which Strathalbyn lost by just one run!).
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Won the Association A Grade bowling trophy 12 times.
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Has taken 10 hat-tricks in senior cricket.
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Was the Strathalbyn Cricket Club’s A Grade leading wicket taker for 20 successive years between 1968 and 1987.
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Was the Association’s A Grade leading wicket taker on 13 occasions.
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Took all 10 wickets in an innings in a match against Ashbourne in 1974 – all were clean bowled. This remarkable feat was noted in Wisden.
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Played a key role in 9 premierships for Strathalbyn between 1968-1969 and 1990/1991.
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Was selected in the South Australian Country Cricket Carnival 'Team of the Year' on 6 occasions.
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Joined the committee of the Strathalbyn Cricket Club in 1967 and has been delegate / Executive Committee member of the Association during that time.
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Awarded life membership of the Strathalbyn Cricket Club.
Trevor Calaby
Awarded life membership in 2005, Trevor played the majority of his cricket in the Alexandra Cricket Association with Macclesfield.
Trevor was a brilliant all-rounder, amassing over 9,000 runs and taking over 600 wickets in a glittering career that spanned from 1952 and 1987.
Trevor was A Grade captain at Macclesfield for 15 seasons, and won the batting trophy 16 times and the bowling trophy 13 times.
Trevor was a member of Macclesfield's A Grade premiership team in 1970/71, which happens to be their only A Grade triumph since 1937/38.
Trevor played in over 20 Country Carnivals in town, and in 1964, scored a century at Adelaide Oval for the Southern team.
In addition to life membership, the Under 16 inter-association shield is named in honour of Trevor - namely, the Calaby Shield.
Keith Ness
Keith Ness boasts a record that is simply beyond comparison.
He played his first match for Finniss as a 12 year old in 1932 when he went along to watch the men’s team play and was asked to fill in when they were one short. From then on he was a regular member of the Finniss team right through to his last game in 1988 at the ripe old age of 67.
Having played over 50 seasons of senior cricket for Finniss, Keith holds the record for the longest playing career of any cricketer to have played in the district. He was known throughout his career as a dependable all-rounder who took many wickets as a medium pace bowler and plenty of runs as a reliable middle order batsman.
During his time playing for Finniss, Keith was part of legendary team that enjoyed a remarkable record of success, particularly for such a small town. Between 1935 and 1949, Finniss upstaged the much bigger surrounding clubs to win eight consecutive A Grade premierships – a record that remains unsurpassed today.
In total, Keith was a member of 13 A Grade premiership teams for Finniss between the 1930’s and the 1970’s. This is another record that Keith holds - no other player in the history of the Association can lay claim to being part of this many A Grade premiership teams.
In 1978, Finniss had enough players to field two A Grade sides with half the players representing Finniss Green and half with Finniss Gold. As it turned out, Keith sided with Finniss Gold but had he been with the Finniss Green team that year he would have had 14 premierships to his name. While Keith is best known for his on-field contribution to local cricket, it’s his contribution off the field where he’s left his legacy.
Keith took over the role of President of the Alexandra Cricket Association in 1977 and led the association during a time where dramatic changes were needed to ensure the viability of local cricket. With the Alexandra Cricket Association struggling, Keith initiated contact with the neighbouring Mt Barker and Eastern Hills Cricket Association with discussions leading to the creation of the new Alexandra and Eastern Hills Cricket Association in 1983.
This merger was mutually beneficial to clubs in both Associations, with the Alexandra & Eastern Hills Cricket Association is one of the strongest cricket competitions in country South Australia.
In his role as Association President, Keith showed the foresight to establish a local junior cricket competition for the first time. Thanks to his leadership, almost 600 local boys and girls now enjoy playing cricket in the Alexandra & Eastern Hills Cricket Association each weekend through the summer months. Like many other small clubs rural parts of South Australia, the Finniss Cricket Club struggled to remain sustainable during the early 1990’s.
Keith passed away on March 3, 2015, and is survived by his children Rod and Dianne.
Clive Wundersitz
Clive Wundersitz was awarded life membership in 2010 in acknowledgement of his significant contribution to the Hartley Cricket Club, Bremer/Callington Cricket Club and A&EHCA.
His involvement began in 1960 as a 15 year old when he played his first game for the Hartley Cricket Club. When an amalgamation occurred, and the Bremer/Callington Cricket Club was created in 1968, he joined the club as a 23 year old and continued to be a valued member for 30 seasons before his retirement in 1998. Proving that age is no barrier, Clive made a comeback in 2013 and played in the club's drought breaking C Grade premiership team in 2016/2017. Clive's service to the Bremer/Callington Cricket Club has been recognised by being awarded life membership.
Clive has been an enthusiastic participant in veterans cricket and has represented the Australian Over 60s and Over 70s teams. He was part of Australia's championship winning team in the first ever Over 60s World Cup. Clive is a life member of the South Australian Veterans Cricket Association.
In addition to his involvement as a player, Clive has made a significant contribution as an umpire and administrator. Following his 'first' retirement as a player, he joined the A&EHCA Umpiring Panel and spent 15 years officiating, including 13 years as the A&EHCA Umpiring Coordinator. At various times, Clive has been a Selector for the A&EHCA Meyer Shield team, Coach of the A&EHCA U/21 Figg Cup team, A&EHCA Grounds Committee member and Secretary of the Mt Barker and Eastern Hills Cricket Association.
His distinguished service to cricket has been recognised at the national level with a Cricket Australia 50 years of service award.
Geoff Warren
Geoff commenced playing cricket for Langhorne Creek in 1970 and was still filling in as recently as 2013. During that time Geoff has played in premiership teams in A Grade, B Grade and C Grade.
He took some time away from cricket in the 1980's due to work commitments but become more involved again once his sons Ben and Nick started playing U/13’s.
Geoff has coached a number of junior teams at Langhorne Creek, at SAPSASA level and for inter-association carnivals.
Geoff’s involvement at Langhorne Creek Cricket Club was most significant from an administrative perspective. He held the role of President for 15 consecutive years and has been heavily involved in projects which have seen Langhorne Oval remain one of the top cricket facilities in South Australia. This is demonstrated by the number of SACA Premier Grade fixtures that have been played at the ground over the years.
Geoff’s contribution as an administrator extended to the A&EHCA in the late 90’s when he attended meetings as his club delegate. Other roles he held in the years that followed include:
o A&EHCA Junior President,
o A&EHCA Representative to the Fleurieu South Junior Committee, and
o Fleurieu South Zone Regional Cricket Council
In 2005, Geoff was elected President of the A&EHCA and held that role during a period of significant reform. Geoff oversaw the evolution of the A&EHCA committee from a group of club delegates to a more streamlined Executive Committee structure. In total, Geoff was A&EHCA President for 6 years before stepping aside to become an Executive Committee member.
Roger Farley
Roger played all his cricket for Bremer/Callington Cricket Club and remains a keen supporter of the club.
While he has always been a keen cricketer, his most significant contribution to the A&EHCA has been as an administrator. He joined the A&EHCA Committee in 1982 when the two associations merged and held a number of positions over the preceding 25 years, including the role of President from 2001/02 to 2004/05.
The A&EHCA U/14 premiership winner is awarded the Roger Farley Shield which was named in recognition of Roger’s contribution to the association. Since the U/14 competition was established, Roger has volunteered his time to umpire the Grand Final almost every year.
Roger has been a great supporter of the Meyer Shield competition. For many years he volunteered his time to manage the Invitational XI team and whenever the Meyer Shield is hosted by A&EHCA, has volunteered to drive the team bus for the Kangaroo Island team.
Trevor Potts
Trevor began playing cricket for Langhorne Creek Cricket Club in 1983 and remained a regular player in the club’s lower grades when he received life membership of the A&EHCA in 2019.
During that time he has amassed nearly 450 games. As at the end of the 2018/2019 season, Trev had played, 269 x A Grade matches, 9 x A2 Grade matches, 108 x B Grade matches, 25 x C Grade matches, 1 x D Grade match, 5 x T20 matches, 5 x Courier Cup matches and 13 x Rotary Cup matches.
In addition to his significant playing record for his home club, Trevor has also represented the A&EHCA in Meyer Shield cricket and has been a long-time supporter of the SA Country Carnival where he has represented the Alexandra team as a player and team coordinator for over 25 years. Trevor’s contribution to the SA Country Carnival was formally acknowledged in 2019 when he was awarded life membership.
The Langhorne Creek Oval is considered one of the best cricket grounds in country SA and Trevor has played a significant role in this reputation being maintained. He held the role of curator of the Langhorne Creek turf pitch between 1982 and 2012 where he regularly spent the morning tea and lunch breaks of his work week at the oval preparing pitches.
Trevor has been a committee member of the Langhorne Creek Cricket Club for over 30 years including 3 years as President.
Trevor has been an active member of the A&EHCA Executive Committee and was previously a club delegate to the A&EHCA. He has prepared pitches for countless A&EHCA inter-association matches and also the U/16 Country Carnival when the event was hosted by the Fleurieu South region.
He has also supported the A&EHCA as coach of the successful U/21 Figg Cup team in 2001/2002, as the A&EHCA delegate to the Fleurieu Districts Cricket Council, and as an assistant to Perry Jones in collecting and collating the match results and statistics.
In March 2018, Trevor was presented with a 25 year service award at the SACA Volunteer of the Year Award. This was a great reflection of the commitment he has shown over his many years of service to growing cricket in the local and wider community.
Cheryl Gillies
Cheryl Gillies was awarded life membership of the A&EHCA in 2020 in recognition of her significant contribution to the association and the Macclesfield Cricket Club.
Upon being awarded life membership, Cheryl has held the role of A&EHCA Treasurer for the past 11 years - the longest tenure of any Treasurer in our association's history.
She continues to do a fantastic job ensuring that the A&EHCA maintains a strong financial position.
In addition to the work she does as Treasurer, Cheryl has also been a key member of the A&EHCA Junior Sub-Committee and spent a number of years as the MyCricket Administrator for the junior competitions.
Cheryl is a highly valued volunteer and committee member of the Macclesfield Cricket Club and has a genuine passion for her local community.
Robin Crompton
Robin, or "Pud" as he is affectionately known, began his cricket with Mount Barker Cricket Club in 1959 as a 10 year old and went on to play at the club for 22 years. His contribution to Mount Barker Cricket Club was recognised in 2021 when he was awarded life membership.
Robin is one of the few people who has been given life membership of two cricket clubs, having also been awarded the honour by Wistow Cricket Club. His time at Wistow commenced in 1982 and he played there for 26 seasons before retiring at the age of 60. Upon his retirement, Robin had played 50 seasons of cricket.
Within a couple of years of retirement, Robin realised that umpiring could be a great way to get back involved with cricket and up until the time that he received A&EHCA life membership in 2021, he remains a highly respected and valued member of the A&EHCA Umpiring Panel.
In addition to his contribution of over 60 years as a player and umpire, Robin has spent many years on the committee of the Wistow Cricket Club and A&EHCA Executive Committee as a secretary, treasurer and club delegate.
Robin has also had his contribution to cricket recognised at a national level with a Cricket Australia 50 years of service award.
Andrew Stidston
Andrew began playing for the Ashbourne Cricket Club in 1995 and has remained a regular player for the Bulls for over 25 years. In addition he's been on the Ashbourne Cricket Club committee for the past 23 years - for the majority of that time he's been secretary, treasurer, or both! His record at Ashbourne Cricket is quite phenomenal - in his 25+ years as a player he's topped the club's batting on 9 occasions, bowling on 9 occasions and in 5 seasons he's topped both. He has won the Ashbourne Cricketer of the Year award 13 times. His top score is 208 which was against Bremer/Callington. His best bowling figures are 7/17 in the 2007/2008 A2 Grade Grand Final against Mount Barker.
Stiddo has been an icon of the Ashbourne Cricket Club for decades but it's his contribution to the A&EHCA that has made a significant benefit to the broader local cricket community. He has been a member of the A&EHCA Executive Committee since 2001 and the majority of that time has been in the role of Statistical Officer. A major step forward for the A&EHCA was when Stiddo coordinated for the association to move onto the new MyCricket platform in 2008. Stiddo put in a mountain of work to complete the setup process and register every single player in the entire A&EHCA to the new system. As an early adopter, the A&EHCA was able to reap the benefits of the online system long before other associations who weren't as luck to have someone with the skill and determination as Stiddo. Over the 20 years that Stiddo has been on the A&EHCA Executive Committee he's held a number of other roles including Vice President.
Outside of A&EHCA cricket, Stiddo played a major role coordinating the "Pitch In" project which saw thousands of dollars was raised to put in concrete cricket pitches in some of the most disadvantaged parts of Guyana - the cricket mad West Indian nation. Through this project, Stiddo coordinated for cricket gear to be collected from A&EHCA clubs and donated to clubs and players in Guyana.
Joe Hill
As an administrator for both his club and for the association, Joe Hill set very high standards as a professional and passionate supporter and promoter of cricket in our community over two decades.
Having started his cricketing career at Langhorne Creek where he played more than 100 games as a junior and senior, he lead the revival of the Finniss Cricket Club in its return from recess for the 2007/08 season. He was made a Life Member of Finniss Cricket Club in 2017/18 having served the previous 10 years as Club President.
First joining the Association's Executive Committee in 2010/11, he served one season as the Statistical Officer in 2011/12, three as Vice President under Damien Nettle from 2012/13 to 2014/15 before succeeding Damien in 2015/16 as President until the 2021/22 season, the equal longest tenure with fellow Life Member Keith Ness.
As President, he oversaw the change of the competition format to one-day cricket for senior competitions, the creation of a separate Twenty20 Competition and also oversaw both the pilot of the SACA-provided Competition Administration Service and the initial leasing agreement for the Summit Sport & Recreation Park.
In May 2021 the Association was recognised as the SACA Community Association of the Year, and, ultimately the Cricket Australia Community Cricket Association Of The Year.
Joe was a very progressive President that continually looked to take the Association to the next level in his leadership, and in that lead a team around him that resulted in the AEHCA becoming the envy of other surrounding Associations.
Steven Schofield
Steven Schofield made his senior debut for Strathalbyn at the end of the 1993/94 season, and as a 15-year old, his A Grade debut in Round 1 of 1994/95, his first of over 250 A Grade matches spanning a longstanding career that has tallied over 5,000 runs, a tenure as A Grade Captain and also induction into the Perry Jones Legends XI as part of Strathalbyn's 150-year anniversary celebrations.
He also has an extensive record at Association level featuring in Calaby Shield, Figg Cup and Meyer Shield teams over a 20-year period. Having served as the Secretary of the A&EHCA from 2012/13 through until 2021/22, Steven's 10 consecutive seasons in the Secretary role on the Executive Committee makes him the longest serving Secretary of the A&EHCA since its formation in 1983/84. In addition, he has also served 15 years as Strathalbyn Cricket Club's Treasurer at the time of awarding.