![Tony Leahy, Frank Hill, Phil Anderson and Keith Chambers at Mia Mia Cricket Club's centenary celebrations last Saturday. Picture by Luke West Tony Leahy, Frank Hill, Phil Anderson and Keith Chambers at Mia Mia Cricket Club's centenary celebrations last Saturday. Picture by Luke West](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/G3M3FqVFYHjdnjXX9zgHHX/1ee611ea-f738-4736-91b0-145033f0a38a.jpg/r0_376_4032_2992_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
FOR the Mia Mia Cricket Club last weekend was both a celebration of its history and a look ahead to the future.
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On the same weekend that Mia Mia commemorated its centenary, the club also officially unveiled its new cricket nets for the current and next generation of players.
Mia Mia, which competes in division three of the Emu Valley Cricket Association, marked its centenary weekend with a big win over Axe Creek.
The club understands that it was officially formed in October of 1929 at a public meeting, but cricket had been played socially at Mia Mia since 1923, hence the centenary festivities.
From those initial social games to now, cricket at Mia Mia has always been played in the one spot that is known as The Flat and sits in a picturesque setting surrounded by hills within the Mia Mia Recreation Reserve alongside the Burke and Wills track.
Throughout its history Mia Mia has played the bulk of its cricket in four competitions - Heathcote, Kyneton, Castlemaine and now the EVCA.
Following a period of recess during the 2000s the club got back up and running again in 2013 under the leadership of president Tony Leahy, who remains in the role at the helm of the club.
![Phil Anderson at the opening of the new Mia Mia cricket nets named in his honour. Picture by Luke West Phil Anderson at the opening of the new Mia Mia cricket nets named in his honour. Picture by Luke West](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/G3M3FqVFYHjdnjXX9zgHHX/63904131-7386-48ef-b7e2-a7a4458ada2f.jpg/r0_0_4032_3024_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
"At times the club has struggled for numbers, but it was probably during the late 60s in the Castlemaine competition when it started to pick up a bit," Leahy said.
"The club won a premiership in 1947-48 against Axedale in the Heathcote competition.
"I was part of a team that won the A reserve competition in Castlemaine in 1972-73 and then in the early '90s the club played in three Emu Valley grand finals and lost them all... I think they were all in division two.
"The club then played for a year or two as the Mia Mia Saints with a few Heathcote blokes and won a premiership in 2000 against Lockwood (EVCA division three).
"Then more recently it went into recess for eight to 10 years before reforming in 2013 in division three in the EVCA.
"Since reforming we've won two premierships (2020 and 2021) and played off last year against Bagshot, but were beaten.
![The picturesque Mia Mia cricket ground. The picturesque Mia Mia cricket ground.](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/G3M3FqVFYHjdnjXX9zgHHX/03c2cccb-9867-4c8c-a534-21bc3094f41d.jpeg/r0_626_4032_2897_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
"Numbers-wise we've got 17 on the books this year, but getting 11 on the field each week is the hard part."
PAST GREATS OF THE CLUB
As for some of the legendary names who have graced the Mia Mia cricket ground over the past 100 years, Leahy - who has an association with the club back to the early 1960s - leads off with school teacher Max Bennett as being integral in helping to rejuvenate the club after World War 2.
"Looking back through the record books Max Bennett was an all-rounder who would regularly make 50 or 60 and take four or five wickets," Leahy said.
"Then we had a bloke by the name of Neville Hewitt who came and taught here at Mia Mia and he was a very good cricketer who played with Prahran and won the A reserve Cricketer of the Year in Castlemaine one season.
"He made hundreds and one day took 10-27 and the side still got beaten.
"Keith Chambers, who taught at Redesdale, has been another very good player for the club and was a real lynchpin in keeping the club going.
"Then in more recent times Carl Thiesz was a very good cricketer who took a lot of wickets for us.
"Every few years we've had a really good player come along."
![Mia Mia Cricket Club's centenary function last Saturday night. Mia Mia Cricket Club's centenary function last Saturday night.](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/G3M3FqVFYHjdnjXX9zgHHX/d7672cf1-231f-46e5-a148-94eb66322096.jpeg/r0_1079_5712_4290_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
SPECIAL ACCOLADE FOR PHIL ANDERSON
One of the highlights of last weekend's celebrations was the official opening of two new cricket nets during the tea break on Saturday afternoon, with the nets named in honour of club stalwart Phil Anderson.
Anderson spent 32 years playing for Mia Mia starting in the early '60s.
"I like to still come down when I get the chance to and see the boys play," Anderson said.
"I've got a lot of great memories from playing at the club, one of which is George Wallace, who was a neighbour of ours.
"If it hadn't been for the second World War he probably would have been the state wicket-keeper.
"He played a little here when he was in his 30s, but most of his cricket here he was in his 40s, 50s and 60s.
"I remember he used to say that when he batted he always wanted to make his age and most of the time he would.
"When he was batting he'd just block the ball and run, so you always had to be ready.
![The Mia Mia team that played last weekend in front of the club's newly-opened cricket nets. The Mia Mia team that played last weekend in front of the club's newly-opened cricket nets.](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/G3M3FqVFYHjdnjXX9zgHHX/84b324f7-a2e8-4a1d-808c-ac58d4ab6127.jpeg/r0_1003_5712_4214_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
"And he was a wicket-keeper who always stood up at the stumps, no matter who was bowling."
Of his many days playing cricket with Mia Mia, Anderson still vividly recalls one game during the drought-affected season of 1982 when the ground resembled a dust bowl and a big gust of wind played havoc.
"There was one day when we had a dust storm and I remember bowling and basically having to aim it out to square leg just to get the ball on the pitch," Anderson said.
Added Leahy: "Just after that Phil and Jack Ross got a bore put down and water onto the ground, which has improved the ground immensely."
A TOUGH START IN THE EVCA
After taking a teaching job at Redesdale having moved from Melbourne, Keith Chambers joined Mia Mia in 1975 and played about 25 years with the club.
"It frustrates me these days when you drive around through little country towns and you see grass knee high where cricket or tennis used to be played," Chambers said.
"Twice we've come out of not having a team and we did go through some hard times.
![Mia Mia Cricket Club celebrates its centenary last Saturday night. Mia Mia Cricket Club celebrates its centenary last Saturday night.](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/G3M3FqVFYHjdnjXX9zgHHX/b87eed9f-bc35-4300-bb80-780199f1de98_rotated_270.jpeg/r0_0_3024_4032_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
"We were playing in the Castlemaine competition when I joined and I remember the meeting we had at the Mia Mia school with the Emu Valley competition, which was looking for a 10th team.
"So we joined the EVCA in 1977 and back then the cricket in the Emu Valley was as strong as Bendigo.
"There was only one division at the time and I remember the first year in the EVCA we lost every game outright... when you're a batsman that was alright because you got two hits every game, but if you were a bowler it was hard work.
"In the second year we still didn't win a game, but there was two games where we only lost on the first innings.
"And then in the third year we actually won a game when Sedgwick declared before they passed us thinking they would be able to get an outright.
"We made about 130 and they were about 7-100 when they declared. I remember it was Don Charlton's first game for us and saying to him that we've only got to bat for 25 or so overs in our second innings and if we do that they won't have enough time for the outright.
"So we just stood there and blocked, did what we had to do, then came back here and celebrated."