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OMEGA CRICKET CLUB HISTORY
The first recorded notes of a cricket club starting in the Moorabbin East area date back to May 1972. Harry Thomsen met with Father Oliver, then parish priest of St. Catherine's, and within 5 months an U14 side was entered into the CMCA (known as the St. Catherines CC). It was so successful that the following season a senior side was entered as well as an U16 side. The senior side's premiership victory saw a 2nd XI side added in 1974. However, by the end of the 76/77 season, most senior players had retired and if not for Dave McKernan in particular, the CC would not have survived. The club changed its name to the Omega CC and a group of 17- & 18-year-olds began the daunting rebuild with no home ground, no training nets and no true clubrooms as the new parish church was to be built on the school oval. By the end of the decade, Omega went within one vote of being expelled from the CMCA itself as frankly they'd had enough of the club and couldn't see how we could possibly continue given our current circumstances.
For the 1979/80 season, Noel McGaw returned to the club as President and the blueprint for the future was forged. With young allies such as John Smith, Phil Taranto, John McAlroy & Ansel Arcuri among others, the club gained recognition going from 2 senior & 2 junior’s teams to 5 senior, 3 junior & 2 ladies’ sides within a decade. The 1st XI rose from "F" grade to the prestigious Longmuir Sheild, the 2nd XI from "I" grade to "A" grade and so on. Finals and premierships were chased and won; socially, we became a destination club - where others wanted to come to and then play for. We erected 3 nets for training at St. Catherine's and used the old church hall as our clubhouse. We had home grounds here, there and everywhere but despite these difficulties we continued to grow and win premierships. The missing piece in the blueprint was a true home base but despite many difficulties, including the tragic loss of the great Dave McKernan, at first, we survived, then succeeded to have a very dominant decade.
May 9th, 1990, was the day that rocked our CC. Expelled from the St. Catherines Parish, we could have easily ceased to exist. However, our DNA was to fight on harder than ever. Merger talks with Highett West surfaced but Ansel Arcuri lobbied Moorabbin Council to give us the G.R. Bricker pavilion as a social clubhouse for the upcoming season. The following year we paid for & built 3 cricket nets as we were able to train on the oval. Finally, in late 1996, President Danny Maher beamed that we'd won over council to have full access to play home games at Rowans Road. On field the club went from strength to strength. Members numbers soured; our 1st XI won Longmuir Shield premierships in 1993/94 & 1997/98. Overall, we won 12 premierships from 24 grand final appearances during the 90's to continue an amazing decade on and off the field.
The decade from 2000-2010 saw us continue the dominance by winning an amazing 25 premierships including the unforgettable 2000/01 Longmuir Shield. Junior numbers were at an all-time high as we grew to a staggering 17-team cricket club and became the envy of the CMCA competition. The decade saw us win the prestigious CMCA Club Champion award on 5 occasions. To run a club this size we can never forget the wonderful contributions of so many volunteers who made the club what it was. Dizzy's Richmond days were financial windfalls but could never have succeeded without so many people helping. As the club surged towards its 40th year, the inevitable retirement of so many champion players and clubmen, such as Mark Casey, Steve Freeman, Mark Valentini, John McAlroy, John Smith, Phil Taranto, Steve Cruwys, Jacob Slucki, Andy Ryan, Andy Stewart, Bernie Ryan, Peter Wanless, Doug Cowlishaw, Danny Maher, Mal Lay, Dean Carter, Mick Krull among others would lead to a huge void in our cricket club.
The 2010s saw a period of change. On the international stage, the game grew exponentially with the ever-popular 20/20 format. The game itself changed, with clubs looking outside the box to remain competitive. Our own CMCA competition was renamed as SECA, coloured team uniforms became the norm and coaches were hired from other leagues and even other countries. Omega was not immune to such changes. Economics placed pressure on many families and perhaps the game itself suffered because of this. Our junior numbers declined rapidly as the decade wore on and our 1st XI was relegated from the Longmuir Shield grade for the first time in 25 years. The highlights of the decade saw amazing milestones such as Paul McGaw (450 games), Chris Ryan and Daniel Bourne (400 games), Gavan & Andy McGaw (350 games) plus Chris Smith, Tim Malane, Leon McGaw, Graham Wilson & Vernon Rozario (300 games). Special mentions to Tracey Fletcher (secretary) & Jacob Slucki (Treasurer) who held these voluntary positions throughout this decade and continue to do so as we enter the 2024/25 season.
Change was needed to meet the ever-growing demand of the 2020s. We started with an unprecedented Covid-19 disease that rocked the world. Under the leadership of Ivan Delac, the club rolled up its sleeves and met numerous challenges just to put sides on the field. Even our planned 50th year celebrations at the mighty MCG were put on hold. However, on March 13th, 2022, this amazing function went ahead, and some 300 people attended. Our nine greatest teams were announced with Tim Malane, named as our 1st XI Captain, receiving the loudest cheer. In the background Ivan & Tracey were tirelessly meeting with council and builders to have new clubrooms erected at G.R. Bricker Reserve. Proudly, our amazing new clubhouse opened in early 2024 but not before us enduring a very difficult season using temporary change rooms and the Moorabbin Bowling as our social room.
Our great club is best described in the 50 yearbook by authors Phil Taranto, Vernon Rozario & Anthony D'Amico - Struggles to Success.
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