INCEPTION:
Foundation meeting was held in the winter of 1879 at the English, Scottish & Australian Chartered Bank, Broadway, Oakleigh. Bank Manager David Wright Nicoll appointed inaugural secretary. 

FIRST TEAM:
The following players were selected to the very first Oakleigh team in 1879. A. Bowman, Dave Dunlop, H. Lang, H.J. Looker (Capt.), H.H. Newton, H. Newton, G. Newton, David Nicoll, Jack Roscoe, Joe Slater, H.W. Thomson, C. Tyers.

EARLY DAYS:
D.W. Nicoll, together with John Keyes MP, secured the present senior playing ground for posterity. In 1883 a letter showed the cricket club in occupation – together with “The Ladies Tennis Club” (also that the club had expended 130 pounds on improvement – remember that the village population was only 700!). By 1892 the population had increased to 1,236 and was virtually unaltered by 1901. The earliest known competition was the “Knox-Kelly Competition” of early metropolitan Melbourne fame. Then followed entry to Caulfield-Moorabbin (1909), Brighton District (1917), re-entry to Caulfield-Moorabbin (1921), which was subsequently renamed Caulfield District in 1926.

 

The First and Second XI joined the Victorian Junior Cricket Association (VJCA) in 1930, a turf association. In 1924, an unsuccessful attempt was made to join the VSDCA, for which the first turf wickets were laid. Oakleigh District Cricket Association (ODCA) was formed in 1926/27, but for several seasons the matting teams of the club played in the Caulfield District Association.

OFFICE BEARERS:
Earlier presidents included A.G. Harston (a wonderfully public spirited townsman) from the 1890’s until the late 1920’s; William Stewart (his son in law and Grand Secretary of Freemasonry in Victoria) and F.E. (Ern) Bunny whose presidency spanned 25 years until 1955.
W.A. (Wob) Scammell followed J.C. (Dad) Betts in the 1920’s as Secretary, with Ted Burroughs occupying that office from the mid 1930’s until entry into the VSDCA in 1949-50.

RECORDS:
Specific records on the field are not known until 1927 when a club ‘Record Book’ was established. However, we know that the first recorded century was compiled by Baker Lee (adjudged “dux of the club”) in 1896-97. By coincidence, Leigh Baker scored the Club’s first sub-district hundred in 1949-50 (106 n.o.). In this season, the late Gordon (Mick) Raymant was selected in a sub-district representative team.

POST-WAR 1945:
Entry of First and Second XI’s to the VSDCA occurred in 1949-50. The minor XI’s remaining for several years in the Oakleigh District Association. In 1954, an attached team “Thirty-fivers” was formed and became a force in matting cricket in the ODCA. Also in 1954, an underage competition began in the ODCA with Oakleigh enjoying numerous successes. The local association has been, and remains, a splendid proving ground for talented youths “on the way up”.

 

R.G. Peace held presidential office from 1955 to 1960 followed by E. Dowler in 1960-61.

 

Mr. C.V. Holten succeeded Mr. P.T.L. (Peter) Newton as President whose term of office spanned the years 1961-75. Peter also achieved VCA status as sub-district delegate. Stan (Sam) Blackburn presided over the turbulent years from 1983-84 to 1986-87 after amalgamation talks had taken place with local club Clayton.

 

Post-war secretaries giving distinguished service included W.H. Robinson, L.S. Dickson, R.C. Williams, R.G.A. Campbell, R.J. Starkey and Bill Knott.

ESTABLISHMENT OF LADIES CRICKET TEAM:
A women’s and girls’ team was formed in the 1978-79 season in conjunction with Huntingdale High School, under the expert tutelage of Val Holten. These teams continued in a variety of competition levels and numbers until the single remaining ladies team seceded in 1995.

David Nicoll – who once viewed the ladies playing some 40 years ago and was enthralled – would have given his pioneer’s seal of approval!

WITHDRAWAL OF JUNIOR BOY’S TEAMS:
Oakleigh had enjoyed a lot of success through the junior teams in the Oakleigh District Cricket Association but withdrew the final team in 1986.

THE HOME OF OAKLEIGH CRICKET CLUB:
The club has a long history as to where it hosted afternoon teas, after game refreshments and offered change rooms. It was not uncommon for the opposition to ask “where do we go this year?!” After humble beginnings in a wooden pavilion the club was then ‘based’ in the Wilkinson Pavilion for many years. A small ‘den’ under the grandstand (used by the Oakleigh Cricket and Football Clubs over the years) was a venue for afternoon teas and opposition change rooms for some time. Once the Quadara Rooms were built they were seen as the convivial place for refreshments, only the opposition deemed it too far to travel. The demise of the Oakleigh Football Club in the VFA (end of 1994 season) saw the Quadara Rooms as the home and administration block of the Oakleigh Chargers Football Club along with the Wilkinson Pavilion as their gymnasium. This relegated the Oakleigh Cricket Club to utilise the ‘junior’ rooms – a brick box of limited facilities.

Of mixed success over many trials saw the club endeavour to come to an arrangement with the Oakleigh Club adjacent to the grandstand overlooking the playing arena. Again the club went back to its junior rooms.

The 1997-98 season saw the completion of the Oakleigh Cricket Club’s new home. With the generosity of the Monash Council, Oakleigh JayCees, Clayton Rotaract and donors of the ‘Brick in the Wall’ fundraiser, the club now has very impressive quarters located within the historic grandstand. With kitchenette facilities and full width windows the rooms at the back of the grandstand give a magnificent view of the day’s play. With upgraded change rooms for the home club and the opposition beneath the rooms, an opposition club will never again have to ask “where to this year?”

RECENT HISTORY:
Under the presidential decree of life member Peter Webb, Oakleigh recruited Andrew Wyver from Tasmania who led the First XI to the finals in his first season in charge. This was to start an unparalleled run of seven consecutive finals series for the First XI and six successive top 5 placing in the prestigious Club Championship Award.

Season 2002/03 saw Oakleigh welcome a talented and extremely high calibre group of players from Monash University following their disbanding in the off-season. This injection of enthusiasm coupled with a strong improvement in the young Oakleigh charges and the addition of former star Victorian batsman Graeme Vimpani in 2003/04 finally gave Oakleigh a competitive edge on the field to go with the spirit shown by administrators and supporters off the field.

Hard work led to success and the First, Second and Third XI’s enjoyed premiership glory over the following 6 seasons to firmly establish Oakleigh as one of the power clubs in the VSDCA.

Icons Ben Drew and Marcus Spencer led the Second XI to premierships in an unprecedented run of consecutive victories and life member Craig Johnson won the W. Price Medal – Craig and Brendan Pauwels were members of four successive premiership teams, unheard of in the club’s dark days.

Graeme Vimpani brought a work ethic and culture of success to the club which has flourished since under the leadership of Spencer as Coach and more recently Jarrod Travaglia as Captain/Coach. Travaglia led the club to an outstanding victory in the 2008/09 season, a fitting conclusion to the careers of Matt Donnelly and Barry Ensil.

Oakleigh has always had a strong family aspect and recent examples are the Premiership winning brothers, Michael and Andrew Splatt, whose grandfather played in the first Oakleigh Sub District side, club legend Allan Stamps who holds the games played and wickets taken records and was deservedly rewarded with a long awaited first premiership medallion in 2008/09 has also introduced his son Matt to the senior club and he has similarly excelled in all grades. Another story about to play out if the grandson of long time President, Peter Newton who will turn out in the purple and gold for the Under 11’s next year, following on a long line of family history dating back to the first OCC side in 1879.

Another strong contributor to the recent success enjoyed by OCC has been the re-introduction and invigoration of the junior club by another life member and 300 game player, Neil Croft. Growing rapidly from one Under 11 team in 2001/02, the junior club rounded off season 2008/09 with a second SDCCL Club Championship trophy and four premierships from 7 sides. Of particular pride to Neil and the rest of the OCC community is the 12 players who have now graduated from the junior sides through to selection on the First XI.