Mallala Cricket Club

**Fast Facts**
Type of organisation:	Sporting
Town or locality:	Mallala
Date established:	The date "c. 1904" was not understood.
Business or purpose:	Cricket Club

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Little is known of the early days of cricket at Mallala, but about 1904 Mr Nevan was instrumental in forming a cricket club. A pitch was laid on land just north of the present oval. The land was given by the Church family and Mrs Church bowled the first ball.

In 1909 Mallala Peoples Park was formed on land purchased from I. Earl, great-grandfather of R. and K. Earl, and cricket was played there on the new pitch. When the railway came to Mallala in 1916, it passed through the Mallala Peoples Park, so land was purchased from J. Konzag, the great-grandfather of R. Konzag. In approximately 1924 teams were changed to equal strength. W. Earl captained the Ramblers and H. Coleman the Wanderers. Between 1940 and 1944 cricket was suspended. In 1965 the Adelaide Plains Cricket Association founded the Lower Gilbert Association.

Post World War 2, competing teams came from Mallala, Korunye, Windsor, Long Plains, Pinery, Grace Plains, Barabba and, for a time, from the R.A..A.F Mallala. Practically all of the pitches were of concrete, which had to be covered on match day with canvas or other types of matting.

B.J. (Barney) Angus, Doug Jarmyn, "Digger" Martin, Morgan Dall and Colin Brooks were stalwarts in the Mallala Club at that time, nurturing several young players including Ken Lindsay, Matt East, Ray George, Bob Walsh and Don Pitt.

In 1971 through the great work by Mr. N. Kakosche, Mallala had a turf wicket.