the history of western suburbs district cricket club 1921-2002

-31-Owen Driscoll joined Wests as a 20 year old wicketkeeper from the Soudan Cricket Club in the SecondDivision and except for the war held that position until he retired. During the war he was stationed inSydney where he played with Western Suburbs. In a club match against Glebe in one afternoon heclaimed nine victims, four caught and five stumped. He played for Wests from 1940-1954 scoring 1902runs. Owen captained the 1948-9 A Grade premiership team. Upon retirement he served the club inmany ways as Chairman of the Executive and Chairman of Selectors and was responsible for ground andcricket preparation. Owen was made a Life Member of the club in 1968 and the Queensland CricketAssociation in 1978.Bob Franklin was an interstate Colts player pre-war and a regular A Grade player post-war. He was ahandy bat and useful medium pace bowler. Bob was Chairman of the Executive for over 15 years andplayed a useful role as coach and mentor of the schoolboy grades. As an architect he was responsiblefor the design of the canteen and its extensions.John Draney was a very versatile sportsman particularly in cricket. He represented the state in theSheffield Shield and was a club stalwart. His loyalty to the club is demonstrated by his constant adviceto the present younger players and his dedication as the club’s curator.The Stirling Brothers. Twin brothers Craig and Glenn served the club as players in the lower gradesbut were tireless workers particularly on the executive and when the hard physical work had to be done.Both died at a relatively young age.Frank Speare was a tall bespectacled fast bowler whose 155 wickets averaged 17.87. The Spearefamily were heavily involved in Taringa Rovers Soccer Club and Frank later became a Director ofQueensland Soccer and Lions Club.Nick Belous. Like many others Nick was a product of the club’s Schoolboy Grade who took 225 A Gradewickets at 20.53 per wicket.Les Westaway was the brother of Colin and John, a pineapple farmer and a dour right hand batsmanand like his brothers served the club for over 20 years, where he amassed 4661 runs at 20.81. Like Coland John he had hands as big as a pineapple which made him a very competent slip fieldsman.Doug Wilson was a tall grey haired fast bowler affectionately known as “The Old Grey Mare”. Heclaimed 139 wickets costing 2269 runs averaging 16.32. His wit and jovial nature made him a popularteam-man.Laurie Postans was captain of the 1958-9 A Grade Premiership team. As well as an excellentwicketkeeper succeeding Owen Driscoll, Laurie was a dashing left hand batsman who scored 1769 runswith the club.Jack Cooper came to the club after playing grade cricket in Victoria and in four and a half years with us,cut short by business commitments, he engendered an intensity and determination amongst all playerswith whom he became associated. He played one match for Queensland but will be remembered inWests history as captain of the 1957-8 A Grade Premiership team.Keith Perrins was discovered as a player with the Koala Cricket Club which contained many Westsplayers. Probably one of the tallest fast bowlers to play club or Shield cricket in his time, he obtainedgreat lift which resulted in him claiming 119 victims at 10.90 in four seasons. Keith’s Shield career waslimited to four matches through injury claiming 7 wickets off 75 overs.Chilla Christ was a schoolteacher whose left arm swing bowling which turned to left arm spin later in aninnings was considered by Don Bradman to be one of the best of his type in Australia and would havebeen a huge success in England. Unfortunately the Australian selectors did not agree. Chilla’s figuresspeak for themselves. He took 588 club wickets at 13.16 and 55 Shield wickets. He loved to open thebatting if given the opportunity and scored 1816 runs for the club.Geoff Cook would be a rarity in modern day cricket. He was a right hand opening bat and openingbowler. As a batsman he was dour and had impeccable concentration. As a bowler he was not fast butcould move the ball extremely well. Geoff was responsible for many record partnerships for the Statebut his most memorable one was when he batted through the innings against the MCC team in 1946-7scoring 169 not out. Although never selected to play for Australia, Cook’s figures give an indication asto the difficulty of breaking through in this era which with the club reigned from 1929 -1956.st1 Class 3246 runs at 30.5 124 wickets at 35.42Wests 6392 runs at 50.37 626 wickets at 15.46Jack Ellis. War interrupted Jack’s career. He was a genuine right arm fast bowler who won the QCAA Grade bowling average on four occasions. For Wests he claimed 176 wickets at 13.43 and 71 wicketsfor Queensland at 32.11 His best figures were 7 for 86.Bill Morris was known as the Errol Flynn of cricket because of his similar appearance to the film star ofthe day. He came to Wests from Sydney after the war and spent ten seasons with the club. Bill was adashing batsman renowned for his glorious stroke play. He captained the Queensland Shield team andwhile playing for the State scored 1987 runs at 34.86 including five centuries. His 2890 runs for the clubaveraged 36.58.Len Johnson was a blacksmith striker at Ipswich Railway Workshops who was nicknamed by his friendsas “The Horse” because of his stamina and ability to bowl long spells under extreme conditions.Unfortunately his career clashed with those of Lindwall and Miller and consequently was given limitedopportunities. Like Chilla Christ good judges said Len would be very successful in England. For Westshe took 81 wickets at 11.06 in four seasons and his first class statistics show he took 191 wickets from1635 overs at 24.15. He took 5 wickets in an innings on 14 occasions. Len played against India forAustralia and toured New Zealand. Like most No. 10 or 11 batsmen in his day, he was not there to stickaround. He was a big hitter of the ball , scoring 533 at 38.07, HS 85 not out for Wests and 920 first classruns.Barry Fisher as a schoolboy cricketer, was a leg spin bowler but as his career developed became a greatall-rounder better known for his superb fast bowling as a middle order batsman. His action was very