Trivia

First ever game: the first match to involve cricketers from Trafalgar is believed to be a friendly played against Thorpdale on Saturday, December 8 1888.

Games record: John Asmussen holds the senior games record with 391 and counting. Graeme Rankin holds the A Grade games record with 305.

Inaugural president: the first recorded president of the Trafalgar Cricket Club was Dr Frederick Lloyd, who served from 1893-94 to 1895-96.

Most service: John Weymouth is the longest serving official in the club’s history, with 11 non-consecutive terms as president. Weymouth had two stints in the top job, serving four and then seven seasons from 1947-48 to 1950-51 and then again from 1954-55 to 1960 61.                                                                                                                                     

Exclusive group: across more than 130 years only 16 people have been inducted as life members of the Trafalgar Cricket Club, they are: Richard Errington, John Weymouth, George Browne, Vic Jean, Alan Rankin, Laurie Rankin, Ben Rowney, Raymond Burgess, Neil Grimshaw, Graeme Rankin, John Asmussen, Alan Blaser, Craig Nicholas, Brett Smart, Craig Nielsen and Rod Cheatley.

Here, there and everywhere: the Ships have played in a number of leagues across its history, namely: Warragul and District Cricket Association, Central Gippsland CA, Latrobe Valley and District Cricket League, Moe and District CA, Trafalgar and District CA, West Gippsland CA and Thorpdale and District CA.

More than one Trafalgar: there has been a number of Trafalgar cricket clubs established in the local area. Records show there was a club in Trafalgar East and Trafalgar South. When numbers permitted, there was also two Trafalgar Cricket Club teams that competed in A Grade, one just named Trafalgar and the other named Trafalgar Greens. Trafalgar Blues also competed in A Grade at a time. Believe it or not there was also a Trafalgar Ladies Cricket Club that competed in 1937-38.

A place to call home: the current Trafalgar Cricket Club clubrooms have been in place since the early 2000s. The rooms were purchased from Fowler and Sons and also had a life in the old town of Yallourn previously.

Award namesakes: the club awards the following trophies and medals at the end of the season in honour of various club dignitaries: The Ray Burgess Perpetual Trophy for Best Club Person/s, the Alan Rankin Memorial Trophy for first grade batting aggregate, the Richard Errington Medal for first grade best and fairest, the George Browne Memorial Trophy for club champion, the Ben Rowney Medal for under 16 best and fairest and the Geoff Johns Award for under 14 batting.

200 club: players to have played more than 200 senior cricket matches for Trafalgar are: John Asmussen (391), Graeme Rankin (328), Craig Nielsen (309), Alan Rankin (300+), Laurie Rankin (250+), Alan Blaser (244), Christian Burgess (239), Vic Jean Jr (220) and Rhys Holdsworth (207).

Greatest player: Alan Rankin is generally regarded as the greatest player the club has ever seen. Rankin scored 27 A Grade club centuries and made over 10,000 A Grade runs for the club.In total he made more than 60 centuries at club and league level and was selected in 15 All Gippsland XIs.

Quartet: the most consecutive premierships won by the club in a single grade is four. The Third XI won the Warragul and District premiership in every season between 2004-05 and 2007-08.

A premiership with pillows: in the 1919-20 first grade grand final it was said Richard Errington made a century with pillows taped to his chest as he had come straight from hospital after having his appendix removed.

Perfect 10: only one player has taken all 10 wickets in an innings in the clubs history, but it was taken on the biggest stage. Lester Tatterson took 10-28 in the 1949-50 first grade grand final against Warragul Blues.

Double tons: there has been four double centuries made by players, all in first grade. They are: Rhys Holdsworth (228), Lester Tatterson (209), Richard Errington (202 not out) and Robert Young (201 not out). David Bremner Senior holds the record for the highest individual score in other grades, with 181 in the thirds.

From forfeit to flag: the 2007-08 season started with a forfeit and ended with a flag for Trafalgar in the thirds. The team won every game after Christmas on their way to the title.

Out of the ground: Keith Alger and Ric Minichiello have reportedly hit the two biggest sixes at Trafalgar Recreation Reserve. Alger hit a six onto Waterloo Rd that landed on the train tracks whilst Minichiello hit a bomb that went over the old ticket box.

Highest score in association history: Trafalgar holds the record for the highest score in the history of the Central Gippsland CA with a mammoth total of 525 against Yallourn Yallourn North in 1997-98.

Lowest opposition scores: Trafalgar has dismissed its opponent for less than 10 runs on three occasions in first grade. Hill End was bowled out of seven in 1893-94, Yarragon for seven in 1950-51 and Narracan for nine in 1930-31.

Never too old: at 45 years of age, Jasin Hopkins became the oldest person to take a first grade five wicket haul for the club in 2016-17 with figures of 7-30. Billy Pace also brought up his maiden century at 55 years of age in C Grade in 2019-20.

Ships abroad: in the mid-1990s the club jetted off to Fiji to compete in a competition known as the ‘Compton Cup’.

Three centuries in one day: Trafalgar ended at 4-490 against Newborough in A Grade in 2012-13 with James Blaser (141), Rhys Holdsworth (147) and Brendan Dawson (104 not out) all scoring tons.

Close calls: Trafalgar has become famous for always keeping players and spectators on edge. In the 2000-01 A Grade semi final Trafalgar defeated Morwell by a single run. In the 2004-05 B Grade semi final Trafalgar was 8-67 chasing Drouin’s 7-213 but was able to escape with a draw and go through to the grand final after being the higher ranked team. In 2014-15 Trafalgar made finals by 0.093 per cent in A Grade and went on to win the flag outright. 

Main rivals: historically Trafalgar’s fiercest rival is Drouin, with the hostility stretching back to at least the 1940s. Yarragon is also the traditional rival. Trafalgar has formed rivalries with an ‘us versus them’ attitude toward traditional powerhouses throughout its existence.

Won outright after losing 6-0: a very strange scorecard against Moe in A Grade in 2013-14 saw Trafalgar win outright despite losing 6-0. After Moe was dismissed for 112 in its first innings, Trafalgar was 4-156 before the last six wickets fell without a run being added. Moe then declared in its second innings with a lead of 126, of which Trafalgar was able to chase down before time ran out in under 30 overs.

Son of God: in a match against Trafalgar, Nathan Ablett made quite the scene by batting in a sombrero.

Finding form: in the 2015-16 B Grade season, Trafalgar had won just four games after round 15. The team then won four of its last five games to pinch a place in the finals.

Prior commitments: in the 1949-50 first grade Grand Final, Trafalgar player Reverend Bill Morgan was a late arrival to the match as he had been conducting a wedding.

Miracle on grass: Trafalgar pulled off arguably the greatest sporting upset in history in 2012-13 when it defeated seven time reigning premier Moe in an A Grade match with a side that featured four players under 19 and nine players who had played less than 20 A Grade games. The team that went down in club folklore that day was: Jackson Noonan (captain), Graeme Rankin, Scott Moorhouse, Rob McPherson, Cohan Lee, Jacob Baldassa, Damien Mann, Heath Grimshaw, Jayke Atkin, David Bremner Junior and Liam Durkin.

Father and son combine: there has only been one recorded instance of a father taking a catch off his sons bowling in A Grade, which came in 2014-15 when Mark Wynne took a catch off Blair Clymo.  

Won premiership without playing Grand Final: Trafalgar has won four premierships without a grand final taking place. Three have come in A Grade, where the team has been minor premiers, and one in C Grade. A Grade titles have been won in 1902-03 (likely before grand finals were introduced), 1914-15 and 2019-20. C Grade was awarded the premiership in 2019-20 as the higher ranked team.