Cricket Cricket is a Bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball game played between two Sports team, teams of eleven players on a cricket field, field, at the centre of which is a cricket pitch, pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two Bail (cr ...

is one of the most popular sports in

Western Australia Western Australia (WA) is the westernmost state of Australia. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east, and South Australia to the south-east. Western Aust ...

. The governing body of the game in WA is WA Cricket. Western Australia is represented at

Sheffield Shield The Sheffield Shield is the domestic first-class cricket competition of Australia. The tournament is contested between teams representing the six states of Australia. The Sheffield Shield is named after Henry Holroyd, 3rd Earl of Sheffield, Lor ...

and domestic one-day level by the

Western Warriors The Western Australian men's cricket team, formerly nicknamed the Western Warriors, represent the Australian state of Western Australia in Australian domestic cricket. The team is selected and supported by the Western Australian Cricket Asso ...

, and in the

Big Bash League The Big Bash League (BBL), also known as the KFC Big Bash League for sponsorship reasons, is a professional Twenty20 cricket league in Australia. Established in 2011 by Cricket Australia, the Big Bash League replaced the previous competitio ...

by the

Perth Scorchers The Perth Scorchers are an Australian men's professional Twenty20 franchise cricket team that competes in the Big Bash League. The Scorchers wear an orange uniform and are based in Perth in the Australian state of Western Australia. Their home gr ...

History

Early history

The first cricket match recorded in Western Australia was played between the builders of

Government House Government House is the name of many of the official residences of governors-general, governors and lieutenant-governors in the Commonwealth and British Overseas Territories. The name is also used in some other countries. Government Houses in th ...

and the commissariat store. No scores were recorded, but the ''

Perth Gazette ''The West Australian'' is the only locally edited daily newspaper published in Perth, Western Australia. It is owned by Seven West Media (SWM), as is the state's other major newspaper, ''The Sunday Times (Western Australia), The Sunday Times'' ...

'' wrote: "the revival of the sports of our native country in a distant land forms a connection which it should be our pride to encourage." The first clubs formed were the Perth Cricket Club, the Guildford Cricket Club and the Tradesmen of Perth.Timeline
– waca.com.au. Retrieved 18 July 2011. Perth and the Tradesmen of Perth who played a match in May 1846. Other matches were played in the country centres of

York York is a cathedral city in North Yorkshire, England, with Roman Britain, Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers River Ouse, Yorkshire, Ouse and River Foss, Foss. It has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a Yor ...

, Bunbury, Toodyay and

Beverley Beverley is a market town and civil parish in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It is located north-west of Hull city centre. At the 2021 census the built-up area of the town had a population of 30,930, and the smaller civil parish had ...

during the same period. A club was formed in

Fremantle Fremantle () () is a port city in Western Australia located at the mouth of the Swan River (Western Australia), Swan River in the metropolitan area of Perth, the state capital. Fremantle Harbour serves as the port of Perth. The Western Australi ...

in 1852, and matches between Perth and Fremantle commenced in November 1852, played on the Perth Recreation Ground on the present site of

Wellington Square Wellington Square may refer to: * Wellington Square, North Adelaide, South Australia * Wellington Square, Perth, in Western Australia * A neighbourhood in Burlington, Ontario, Canada * A square in Kolkata, India, renamed Subodh Chandra Mallik Squar ...

. The match was attended by the Governor and Colonial Secretary, with food and entertainment in the form of a band being provided. The ''Perth Gazette'' noted "the field was graced by nearly all the beauty of the metropolis". The inaugural contest was won by Perth, who defeated Fremantle by three wickets, with the player Wellman taking six wickets for Perth in the first innings. Three brothers A., C. and E. King played on the side of Perth. In 1879, a

team A team is a group of individuals (human or non-human) working together to achieve their goal. As defined by Professor Leigh Thompson of the Kellogg School of Management, " team is a group of people who are interdependent with respect to in ...

from the Benedictine mission at

New Norcia New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 ** "New" (Paul McCartney song), 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, 1995 * "New" (Daya song), 2017 * "New" (No Doubt song), 1 ...

, organised by

Henry Lefroy Sir Henry Bruce Lefroy (24 March 1854 – 19 March 1930) was the eleventh Premier of Western Australia. Biography Lefroy was born in Perth, Western Australia on 24 March 1854. His father was Anthony O'Grady Lefroy, Colonial Treasurer of Wes ...

and the abbot

Rosendo Salvado Rosendo Salvado Rotea OSB (1 March 1814 – 29 December 1900) was a Spanish Benedictine monk, missionary, bishop, pianist, composer, author, founder and first abbot of the Territorial Abbey of New Norcia in Western Australia. Salvado introduced ...

and mainly consisting of Aboriginals, was formed. The team played matches against teams from nearby Northam and

, and also "toured" Perth and Fremantle, winning most of their matches. Later the same year, the Metropolitan Cricket Club, formed from the amalgamation of the Perth and Perth Union Cricket Clubs, travelled to New Norcia, winning a match against the team by a narrow margin. New Norcia Cricket Team

WA Cricket was formed as the Western Australian Cricket Association on 25 November 1885, with Magistrate John James named as the inaugural president of the association. In 1889, James secured a grant of 28 acres from

Governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...

Frederick Broome Sir Frederick Napier Broome (18 November 1842 – 26 November 1896) was a colonial administrator in the British Empire, serving in Natal, Mauritius, Western Australia, Barbados and Trinidad and Tobago. The Western Australian towns of Broo ...

on the foreshore at

East Perth East is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sun rises on the Earth. Etymology As in other languages, the word is formed from the fact that eas ...

, with a 999-year lease. Frederic North was named as the first secretary of the association. The

Western Australia cricket team The Western Australian men's cricket team, formerly nicknamed the Western Warriors, represent the Australian state of Western Australia in Australian domestic cricket. The team is selected and supported by the Western Australian Cricket Asso ...

played their opening first-class matches on a tour of the Eastern states during the 1892–93 season, playing two games – against

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a States and territories of Australia, state in the southern central part of Australia. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories by area, which in ...

at the

Adelaide Oval The Adelaide Oval is a stadium in Adelaide in the state of South Australia. It is located in the Adelaide Parklands, parklands. The venue is predominantly used for cricket and Australian rules football, but has also played host to rugby league, ...

, losing by 10 wickets, and against

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Queen Victoria (1819–1901), Queen of the United Kingdom and Empress of India * Victoria (state), a state of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, a provincial capital * Victoria, Seychelles, the capi ...

at the

MCG The Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG), also known locally as the 'G, is a sports stadium located in Yarra Park, Melbourne, Victoria. Founded and managed by the Melbourne Cricket Club, it is the largest stadium in the Southern Hemisphere, the el ...

, losing by an innings and 243 runs. The team was captained by Herbert Orr. A team organised by

George Giffen George Giffen (27 March 1859 – 29 November 1927) was a cricketer who played for South Australia and Australia. An all-rounder who batted in the middle order and often opened the bowling with medium-paced off-spin, Giffen captained Australia ...

toured Western Australia in 1896, playing five matches at Coolgardie,

Kalgoorlie Kalgoorlie-Boulder (or just Kalgoorlie) is a city in the Goldfields–Esperance region of Western Australia, located east-northeast of Perth at the end of the Great Eastern Highway. It is referred to as Kalgoorlie–Boulder as the surroundi ...

Perth Perth () is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth-most-populous city in Australia, with a population of over 2.3 million within Greater Perth . The ...

and Northam. The

WACA Ground The WACA Ground () is a sports stadium in Perth, Western Australia. The stadium's name derives from the initials of its owners and operators, the Western Australian Cricket Association (WACA). The WACA has been referred to as Western Australia' ...

was opened in November 1893, with the first curator being William Duffy, who also played two matches for Western Australia. A grandstand was built at the ground in 1895, seating approximately 500 people and incorporating dressing rooms, members' rooms and a bar. The initial first-class match played on the ground was between Western Australia and South Australia in April 1899, with South Australia winning by four wickets. Further sides visited the state before the start of World War I, with South Australia touring in 1905–06 and 1908–09,

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

touring in 1906–07, the MCC touring in 1907–08 and Victoria touring in 1909–10. Matches were played both at the WACA Ground and at

Fremantle Oval Fremantle Oval, also known by naming rights sponsorship as Fremantle Community Bank Oval, is a stadium in the centre of Fremantle, Western Australia, located on Parry Street. It currently has a capacity of 17,500 with terracing and a members a ...

. Western Australia managed to win two of these matches, against South Australia in January 1906, by 103 runs, and against New South Wales in March 1907, by 5 runs. The first

century A century is a period of 100 years or 10 decades. Centuries are numbered ordinally in English and many other languages. The word ''century'' comes from the Latin ''centum'', meaning ''one hundred''. ''Century'' is sometimes abbreviated as c. ...

scored for Western Australia was by

Ernie Parker Ernest Frederick Parker (5 November 1883 – 2 May 1918) was an Australian tennis player and cricketer. Career Ernie Parker was educated at Perth High School and St Peter's College, Adelaide, before joining his father's law firm in Perth. T ...

, who scored 116 against South Australia in 1906. Western Australia was invited to send a representative to the Board of Control in 1913. The WACA recruited several well-known interstate cricketers to play for Western Australia during the early part of the 20th century, including Ernie Jones, Arthur Richardson and Ernest Bromley, who all played

Test cricket Test cricket is a Forms of cricket, format of the sport of cricket, considered the game’s most prestigious and traditional form. Often referred to as the "ultimate test" of a cricketer's skill, endurance, and temperament, it is a format of i ...

for

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

Post-World War I

Several cricketers from Western Australia fought in World War I, including

, Lionel Gouly and

Jim Everett James Samuel Everett III (born January 3, 1963) is an American former professional football player who was a quarterback in the National Football League (NFL) for 12 seasons, primarily with the Los Angeles Rams. He played college football for ...

Admission to the Sheffield Shield

Western Australia was admitted to the

for the 1947–48 season. Keith Carmody was recruited from New South Wales to lead the inaugural side. Although playing a shortened schedule of matches compared to the other teams, playing each team only once instead of twice, Western Australia won the competition in the first year. Notable cricketers from the first few years of Western Australia's Sheffield Shield competition include Carmody, Allan Edwards, Wally Langdon, Laurie Sawle, John Rutherford, Ken Meuleman, John Munro and Basil Rigg. When selected for

's tour of India in 1956, Rutherford became the first Western Australian selected for an overseas tour, and the first to play a Test match. From the 1956–57 season, Western Australia played a full schedule of matches against other states. This coincided with a drop in success of the team, although several more players made their Australian debuts, including Meuleman, Ron Gaunt, Barry Shepherd,

Des Hoare Desmond Edward Hoare (born 19 October 1934) is an Australian former cricketer who played in one Test match in 1961. He also played Australian rules football for East Fremantle in the West Australian National Football League (WANFL). Life and ...

and Keith Slater. Bob Simpson was recruited to the state from

for the 1956–57 season, and had an immediate impact. He currently holds the Western Australian record for the highest first-class

batting average Batting average is a statistic in cricket, baseball, and softball that measures the performance of batters. The development of the baseball statistic was influenced by the cricket statistic. Cricket In cricket, a player's batting average is ...

, scoring 2,470 runs from 24 matches at an average of 79.67. His average for the 1959–60 season was 300.66, an Australian record.

"Golden Era"

Western Australia won seven Shield titles during the period from 1967–68 to 1980–81, which coincided with the international debuts of players such as Bruce Laird,

Dennis Lillee Dennis Keith Lillee, (born 18 July 1949) is a retired Australian cricketer rated as the "outstanding fast bowler of his generation".

Rod Marsh Rodney William Marsh (4 November 1947 – 4 March 2022) was an Australian professional cricketer who played as a wicketkeeper for the Australian national team. He was a part of the Australian squad which finished as runners-up at the 1975 ...

, Bob Massie,

Bruce Yardley Bruce Yardley (5 September 1947 – 27 March 2019) was an Australian cricketer who played in 33 Test cricket, Test matches and seven One Day Internationals between 1978 and 1983, taking 126 Test wickets. Known to his teammates as 'Roo', Yardley ...

and

Kim Hughes Kimberley John Hughes (born 26 January 1954) is a former cricketer who played for Western Australia, Natal and Australia. He captained Australia in 28 Test matches between 1979 and 1984 before captaining a rebel Australian team in a tour of ...

. In 1979 Hughes became the first Western Australia to captain the national side. Several international players were recruited to Western Australia during this period, including

Tony Lock Graham Anthony Richard Lock (5 July 1929 – 30 March 1995) was an English cricketer, who played primarily as a left-arm spinner. He played in 49 Test matches for England taking 174 wickets. Lock took 2,844 first-class wickets, placing him ...

from England,

Wayne Daniel Wayne Wendell Daniel (born 16 January 1956) is a former cricketer, who played as a right arm fast bowler. Daniel featured for the West Indies, Middlesex, Barbados and Western Australia in his cricketing career. He was the first person to hit a ...

from Barbados and

Ken McEwan Kenneth Scott McEwan (born 16 July 1952 at Bedford, Eastern Cape, Bedford, South Africa), is a South African-Scottish retired cricketer and businessman who played principally for Eastern Province cricket team, Eastern Province and Essex County Cr ...

from South Africa.

World Series Cricket

Gloucester Park, a trotting track in Perth, hosted seven World Series International Cup matches and one SuperTest in 1978 as part of the

World Series Cricket World Series Cricket (WSC) was a commercial professional cricket competition staged between 1977 and 1979 which was organised by Kerry Packer and his Australian television network, Nine Network. WSC ran in commercial competition to established ...

(WSC) competition organised by

Kerry Packer Kerry Francis Bullmore Packer (17 December 1937 – 26 December 2005) was an Australian media tycoon, and was considered one of Australia's most powerful media proprietors of the twentieth century. The Packer family company owned a controlling ...

. The Western Australian cricketers who signed with WSC were Ross Edwards, Bruce Laird, Rob Langer,

Dennis Lillee Dennis Keith Lillee, (born 18 July 1949) is a retired Australian cricketer rated as the "outstanding fast bowler of his generation".

, Mick Malone,

and Dennis Yagmich. These cricketers were barred from playing cricket for Western Australia for the time they were signed with WSC, but most returned to state cricket after the WSC-ACB truce in 1979.

Recent years

The

were formed in 2011 to represent the state in the

for the 2011–12 season.

Venues

The

Hands Oval JE Hands Memorial Park, more commonly known as Hands Oval, is a stadium in South Bunbury, Western Australia. The ground is mainly used for Australian rules football matches, but has also hosted cricket and soccer. Uses Australian rules footb ...

in Bunbury and the

Perth Stadium Perth Stadium, commercially known as Optus Stadium due to sponsorship reasons, is a multi-purpose stadium in the Burswood, Western Australia, Burswood suburb of Perth, Western Australia. It was completed during late 2017 and officially opened ...

in Burswood have hosted major matches in Western Australia. Fremantle Oval is no longer used for cricket. Gloucester Park, a racecourse in Perth, was used for

matches from 1977–79.

Lilac Hill Lilac Hill is a cricket ground in Western Australia in the Perth suburb of Caversham, where the Swan River flows around its southern and eastern sides. The ends of the ground are known as the ''River End'' and the ''Pavilion End''. In 1990 ...

in Midland hosted the annual Lilac Hill Match from 1990–2008, and also hosted a

women's one-day international Women's One Day International (ODI) is the limited overs form of women's cricket. Matches are scheduled for 50 overs, equivalent to the men's game. The first women's ODIs were played in 1973, as part of the first Women's World Cup which was ...

match between

and

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

in 2005.Women's One-Day International matches played on Lilac Hill Park, Perth
– CricketArchive. Retrieved 18 July 2011.

History

Early history

Post-World War I

Admission to the Sheffield Shield

"Golden Era"

World Series Cricket

Recent years

Venues

Competitions

Teams

See also

References

Works cited

External links