Balgownie Cricket Club (BCC), established in 1894, is a family-oriented club based in Balgownie, & encompassing the neighbouring suburbs of Tarrawanna, Fernhill, Fairy Meadow, Mount Ousley, Mt Pleasant, & Towradgi.
The first accurate record we have of a Balgownie Cricket Club comes from the following report in the Illawarra Mercury on December 25th 1894:
"A match was played at Bode's ground last Saturday between the Clifton CC and the newly formed Balgownie Club. The latter won by 5 runs. It is only fair to state that the visitors brought only half a team with them, and had to play with juvenile pick-ups."
Bode's ground was situated near where The North Wollongong PCYC now stands. This ground was used by a number of clubs and at one stage had a hessian fence around it. This might well have been Balgownie’s first game and if so the Club’s first ever victory.
From that time to the early 1950's, Balgownie cricket was mentioned periodically in The Mercury. At one time, BCC were affiliated with our 'senior' club Corrimal who could take players from Balgownie to play for them if they wished. Full status to the Illawarra first grade competition is believed to have been granted in the 1951-52 season. Since that time, Balgownie Cricket Club have continually fielded teams in the ICA competition.
Our success speaks for itself, in both our longevity, representative players and premierships. With our club reaching 130 years in 2024/25, and continually growing in membership, we are excited for what the future brings.
"The Bally Black"
Players who rack up in excess of 200 games during a career are awarded upon achieving that mark. However, during the 2003 season it was decided by the then committee to introduce a special award for long serving players. A special criteria was decided upon which required a player to have played 250 games for Balgownie Cricket Club, 200 of which must have been in first grade to qualify. Players who achieve this feat are awarded the "Bally Black", which is a traditional baggy black cap with commemorative embroidery. The first player to receive the award was the legendary Neil Coad. To date, recipients of the award have been:-
1. 2003 - Neil Coad
2. 2007 - Chris Sheppard
3. 2013 - Adam Berwick
It was decided during 2006 that Geoff Brown, Gordon Waters, Tom Rankin and David King would be asked to select a team of the best players they had seen play for Balgownie Cricket Club since 1970. That year was selected as all four life members had seen the vast majority of cricket played by Balgownie since that time. The selected team was:-
1. Glen Smede
2. Graham Edwards
3. Paul Lynam
4. Chris Sheppard
5. Glen Bailey (c)
6. Neil Coad
7. Keith Thompson
8. Damian Merola (wk)
9. John Saye
10. Dean Merola
11. Peter Rowsell
A special presentation was made to those players by Balgownie junior and former test wicketkeeper, Brian Taber at the 2006-2007 presentation night.
Dean Merola Batting
1977-1978
1999-2000
2001-2002
2007-2008
2014 – 2015
2015-2016
2017 – 2018
2018 – 2019
1977-1978
1983-1984
1994-1995
1999-2000
2000-2001
2003-2004
2005-2006
2008-2009
1977-1978
1978-1979
1991-1992 (joint winners with Keira)
1992-1993
1994-1995
1995-1996
1996-1997
2001-2002
2002-2003
2003-2004
2004-2005
2007-2008
2007-2008
2012 - 2013
1943-1944
1948-1949
1949-1950
1951-1952
1991-1992
1994-1995
2000-2001
1991-1992
1993-1994
2002-2003
2004-2005
2003-2004
2023/2024
1979-1980
1983-1984
2007-2008 (Minor premiers)
1978-1979
1983-1984
1996-1997
1997-1998
2003-2004