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Parramatta District Cricket Club
Parramatta District Cricket Club
(By Tom Wood – Club Historian)
On 26th August 2024 former First Grade middle-order batsman Norm Lockhart passed away.
The 1950s during which Norm played First Grade with Cumberland (Parramatta) was one of the club’s golden eras, the senior team finished runners-up in 1952/53, 1953/54 (he was a member of the team both seasons) and 1955/56, and his teammates included several club luminaries such as Richie Benaud, Ron James, Wilf Ewens, Wally Cornock, Jack Treanor and Bert Alderson.
Norm’s career span with the ‘two-blues’ stretched from the 1943/44 season through to 1953/54, over that interlude the stylish right-handed middle-order batsman with the flowing cover drive and neat clip of his legs, in all grades, compiled 2,895 runs @ 24.33 (H.S. – 108*) – a fine effort in the time of uncovered wickets, full fields and no protective helmets. He was also celebrated as splendid boundary fieldsman and was a well-respected and liked teammate.
In his early seasons with the club, he tended to fluctuate between second and third grade until he produced a breakthrough batting performance in the 1947/48 Third Grade Premiership winning team captained by Alfred Hall. He topped the run scoring tally with an impressive 502 runs @ 38.80 – this featured innings of 108* v. Mosman, 101 v. Glebe and 94* v. St. George; and he also shared fine 4th wicket partnership of 154 v. Glebe with Bruce Urry. Norm’s impressive form during this season placed him on an upward projection path towards future First Grade selection.
He debuted in First Grade in 1949/50, and he stayed a key member of that team until his retirement in 1953/54. During his First Grade career he fashioned a very satisfactory 1,318 runs @ 28.04 (H.S. – 93*). His batting highlights over this period were the following weighty partnerships; 1951/52 – 190 for the 6th wicket v. Northern District with Richie Benaud, and 135 for the 5th wicket v. Mosman with Bruce Ritchie; 1953/54 – 118 for the 4th wicket v. Waverley with Bert Alderson
Norm Lockhart was selected in the Parramatta District Cricket Club’s ‘Team of the 1950s.’ He was Parramatta’s First Grade Player No. 312.
Norm’s son Steve followed in his father’s footsteps and played for the club – he was fine opening batsman who was partnered by Mike Wood in the 1968/69 A.W. Green Shield team, and they again paired up between 1969/70 and 1971/72 in Parramatta’s Third and Fourth Grade teams.
Norm Lockhart’s Career Statistics:
Vale Norm Lockhart.
History and Heritage of the Parramatta District Cricket Club
1843 to 2018
Parramatta District Cricket Club Historian, former first grade player and current administrator Tom Wood comprehensively tracks the historic voyage of the club from its birth in 1843 through to the 21st century in ‘A True Blue Tale.’
To purchase your copy of this 1,100 page Club History, complete the following Purchase Application Form.
Parramatta District Cricket Club is NSW’s oldest living cricket club and amongst the oldest in Australia.
Parramatta played its first newspaper recorded inter district match against Liverpool on 11th September 1843. It played six times against touring English International teams in the 1880s and 1890s, and in 1867, the famous Aboriginal team that toured England in 1868 also took on Parramatta.
Many talented players represented Parramatta including the first of its nineteen Test and International players, Frank Iredale in the 1890s. Other early stars were Gerry Hazlitt, Les Pye, ‘Mudgee’ Cranney, Gar and Mick Waddy, W.P. Howell, Ron James, and Ray Rowe.
In Modern times Richie Benaud, John Benaud, Doug Walters, Greg Matthews, Sean Abbott, and Nick Bertus stepped on to the field adorned in the club’s iconic two-blue bumble-bee caps. In 2018/19 the club celebrated its 175th anniversary.
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