How time flies. It is now 40 years since Macedon Cricket Club won the 1985-86 Gisborne District Association A-grade (now McIntyre Cup 1sts) premiership.
A repeat of that epic performance has eluded the club ever since, though Macedon has been able to win several lower grade flags.
This Saturday, at Tony Clarke Reserve, a special 40th anniversary celebration to mark the 1985-86 team’s success will take place.
“It should be a great get-together,” the 1985-86 premiership side captain Kinnear Beatson said yesterday.
Beatson, an illustrious cricket and football player and leader for both cricket and football at Macedon for many years, vividly recalls the happenings leading up to the club’s premiership which broke a 19 years drought.
He was full of praise for the young home grown team members who rose to the occasion and secured a premiership which came as a surprise to many across the GDCA at the time.
In the grand final against a powerful Bacchus Marsh line-up Beatson’s own performance with bat and ball were certainly man-of-the-match standard.
He claimed 5-21 from 7.3 overs and then made 37 opening the batting.
“Our strength was in our bowling and fielding … that’s why we preferred to see the opposition bat first that season,” Beatson reflected.
In a low scoring semi-final, Macedon played a strong Romsey side which did not live up to expectations with the bat.
Macedon then struggled to get over the line, reaching 8/114 to earn a spot in the grand final played at Maddingley Park — the picturesque main oval at Bacchus Marsh.
Bacchus Marsh won the toss and batted, and were dismissed for 154, with Beatson’s five wickets cutting a swathe through the lower order batting.
In reply, Macedon battled to reach 7/131 and the premiership was in the balance.
A unbeaten eighth wicket partnership between Brian Millard and Gregg Kennedy carried Macedon to victory at 7/155, with Bacchus Marsh conceding defeat rather than attempting a miracle bid to try and win outright.
SPECIAL MOTIVATION
Macedon’s emotional motivation going into the finals was the memory of the legendary John Clifford (club president at the time) who died from a heart attack while leaving the field in a lower grade match earlier in the season.
All-rounder Clifford was one of the great Macedon cricket-football personalities. He represented Gisborne association at Bendigo Country Week for some years.
John’s son Sean was a member of the premiership side.
Fittingly, the Green Street ground beside the railway line was eventually named the John Clifford Reserve to mark his in-depth contribution to sport and community at Macedon.
The get-together on Saturday will certainly bring back many memories, with most of the premiership side’s members expected to be present.
Macedon’s 2025-26 McIntyre Cup side will be playing a ‘must win’ one-day match against Broadford at Tony Clarke on Saturday.
