(By Tom Wood – Club Historian)
Sadly, after a lengthy battle with his health former Parramatta (Central Cumberland) District Cricket Club 1st grade opening bowler Ian Monaghan passed away at the Springwood Hospital last Thursday.
The giant blond headed right-arm fast bowler was one of the four Monaghan brothers to play for the club (Greg – current club president, Richard and Tony) and the second to make the Parramatta 1st grade team. He was also the brother-in-law of former club coach and 1st grader Mick Haire.
In the fast-medium bracket pace-wise, his greatest asset as a bowler was his strength and great height, which gave him the ability to extract steep bounce from the wicket. Not a noted batsman nevertheless the ‘big fellow’ was known to have hit a long-ball on several occasions.
Ian started his grade cricket journey in 1974/75 in 5th grade. But a series of sterling performances during that first season in that grade and the Poidevin-Gray Shield rocketed him up into 2nd grade where he met with a good degree of success. 5th grade (17 wickets @ 11.76 [B.B. – 4/32]), PGs (15 wickets @ 9.33 [B.B. – 8/40 v. Sydney, 6/30 v. Balmain]) and 2nd grade (18 wickets @ 15.83 [B.B. – 7/44 v. Gordon]).
A fine start to the 1975/76 season in 3rd grade – 20 wickets @ 17.45 [incl. 5/48 v. Balmain] – set him up for further promotion to the club’s senior grades, but a broken ankle ‘put paid’ to his cricket for the rest of that season.
However, the 1976/77 season proved to be the ‘breakthrough’ year for the promising paceman – he captured 50 wickets (4ths – 46, 3rds - 4), and this performance served as a launching pad into his 1st Grade debut in 1977/78 (1st grade player No. 429). His 4th grade efforts boasted bags of 5/21, 5/34 and 5/44.
After a period ‘in and out’ of the club’s top-grade team he began to really hit his straps as a 1st grade bowling force in 1981/82 when he grabbed 34 wickets @ 16.91 (B.B. – 5/53). It was a great pity for Parramatta that just as he began to realise his potential in 1st grade the club lost him when he joined the Penrith club after settling in the Blue Mountains region. Ian donned the bumble-bee cap between 1974/75 and 1981/82.
Ian starred in the club’s Poidevin-Gray Shield team being one of only five players to have captured 50+ wickets for Parramatta in that competition (50 wickets @ 10.64 [B.B. – 8/40]).
Parramatta Playing Statistics:
Grade | Runs | H.S. | Average | Catches | Wickets | Average |
PGs | 69 | 26 | 13.80 | 9 | 50 | 10.64 |
Other Grades | 468 | 47 | 10.63 | 26 | 194 | 16.61 |
1st Grade | 150 | 21 | 8.82 | 5 | 63 | 20.52 |
Total | 687 | 47 | 10.13 | 40 | 307 | 15.81 |
Central Cumberland District Cricket Club
First Grade – Season 1981/82
Back Row: Greg Matthews, Darren Tucker, Wes Gould (Scorer), Ian Monaghan, Bernie Reeve, Greg Monaghan.
Front Row: Tom Wood, Matthew Bugg, Doug Walters, Ron Carroll (President), John Benaud (capt), Bob Aitken, Allen Turrell, Ron Wright (Secretary).
Vale Ian Monaghan.
