Manleys Flats Cricket Club has gone from strength to strength since 1946, and members will be celebrating the 50th anniversary of the club hall with a festive evening at the club grounds on the 29th of October. All are invited to join them in celebrating this milestone with friends, family and club members past and present. Dinner and drinks will be available for purchase.
Manleys Flats Cricket Club has gone from strength to strength since 1946, and members will be celebrating the 50th anniversary of the club hall with a festive evening at the club grounds on the 29th of October. All are invited to join them in celebrating this milestone with friends, family and club members past and present. Dinner and drinks will be available for purchase.
In 1946 a group of local farmers got together to form their own cricket team. Today, Manley Flats Cricket Club is still going strong, with the club grounds located a mere 17km’s from Grahamstown on the Port Alfred road. Boasting 2 successful cricket sides and a fantastic location, the club is a favourite with both players and spectators alike.
Local community members, particularly the Palmers, Yendalls and Hornes, were fundamental in getting the club up and running, with Owen Mountford, the instigator of it all, being elected as the club’s first ever president, and Jimmy Palmer as the first club captain.
From meager beginnings the club grew from strength to strength, playing matches in an area known as Palmer’s Flats. In 1961, 15 years later, the club began the upgrade from its ‘wooden shack’ club house to the building we now see on the club grounds today. Thanks to the Ladies Social Club, enough money was raised to get the ball rolling and the foundations of the new club house were laid 50 years ago. With constant fund raising and generous donations the clubhouse with hall was finally completed in 1963, in time for the club’s first dance held that April.
During this time of expansion, matches were still played on Palmer’s flats until the ground in front of the hall could be leveled into a decent playing field. The field was finally ready in 1963 and the first match was played at the club’s home ground – when match fees were 20c per game and club subs were priced at a mere R3.00.
It must also be mentioned that the Manleys club had a tennis team as well. Established in the 60’s this part of the club was relatively successful with many good players, however as of 1999 the tennis section folded due to a lack of membership and the club being unable to enter a team into the local leagues.
Some past members of the cricket club include the late Lorrie Wilmot, renowned EP and Border cricketer during the time of isolation. The previous Rhodes University VC, Dr. Dave Woods was also an active member of Manleys. Currently, Wayne Wiblin – a previous Border provincial player and coach – is still an active member of the first team, whilst Kelly Smuts, local Grahamstonian and current Warriors player, often played for Manleys 1st team during his school years whilst in Grahamstown. The Manley’s club has also produced a host of Country Districts representatives all of whom have excelled at this level.
Both teams at Manleys have had recent success in their respective leagues. The first team won the GCB League in both the 2009/2010 and 2010/2011 seasons and were crowned champions in the 20/20 1st League in 2011. They also won the famous Pineapple tournament in 2006. In the 2009/2010 season, the 2nd team won the GCB League as well the Bathurst League thereby claiming ‘the double’. They had previously come 1st in the GCB League 2007/2008 season and were placed a respectable second in the 2010/2011 season.
These days the club grounds are not only used by the cricketers but the Albany and Bathurst Farmers’ League where regular stock fares and auctions are held. The hall has also been used during municipal and government elections as a polling station on a few occasions as well as for various other events such as dances and birthday celebrations. Recent extensions and improvements have made the hall an ideal place for functions.
