City United Cricket Club president Mick Randall has been bowled over by the enhancements to Maitland’s premier sports venue.
Earlier this week, the new $1.9 million facelift for the city’s historic site, Robins Oval, was unveiled, much to the delight of residents and, in particular, the local cricketing fraternity.
Even the Mick Hinman Pavilion, named after the legendary Harold “Mick” Hinman, underwent some much-needed upgrades.
The Maitland Park project, jointly funded by the NSW Government, Cricket NSW and Maitland City Council, also included reconstructed tiered seating, better changerooms for male and female athletes, a new canteen, amenities building and storage area.
Randall admitted the improvements would open the door to numerous ventures moving forward.
“We’ve put a lot of work into this over the past 10-to-15 years,” he said.
“There has been plenty of back and forth, however the state government, Cricket NSW – especially Gary Fisher – and mayor Philip Penfold remained very supportive.
“We spent many a night debating this, so it’s great to finally witness the finished product.
“I’d like to express my gratitude to City United’s members and the team who put countless hours into undertaking this project.
“It would be remiss not to mention Paul Brownlee, too, who really headed that up.
“We’ve always had the premier ground, but the facilities have always been sub-standard.
“We’ll now be able to attract more people to the club.
“We also have facilities that women and children can come to and feel safe.
“That’s vitally important.
“Hopefully, we can entice tournaments – and other events – to return to the region.
“We used to stage a lot of carnivals.
“And, now, having the facilities for not just City United but for the Hunter in general, it would be great to see players from throughout the state come back and play on this Maitland ground.
“Our club’s quite successful around this area.
“But, you can see out there [today], the young kids playing cricket.
“That’s what our organisation is all about and this facility now gives them something to strive for as they get into the senior ranks.
“It would be great to host big competitions in Maitland again.”
City United heads into the 2023-24 Maitland and District Cricket Association season confident of further success.
The firsts crushed the Thornton Thunder by 96 runs in the grand final, courtesy of Karl Bowd’s 71, captain Matt Trappel’s unbeaten 38 and a sizzling bowling spell by Tim Baker, who claimed 4-23.
Meanwhile, the seconds finished runners up to NSCC.
“We’re gearing up for October, so we’re in the process of organising our AGM and seeing where we are at,” Randall told the Newcastle Weekly.
“I’m pretty sure the majority of players from last year will come back.
“We’re the defending first grade premiers, so the target’s on us.
“However, we’re always up to the challenge and fairly positive moving into the season that the club will perform well across all the grades – from one to five.
“Plus, we’re also fielding between five and six junior sides.
“That’s a big focus for City United.
“We’ve done a lot of work in our junior ranks over the past three-to-four years and increased that, so I don’t see too much changing in our numbers.
“And, who knows?
“We might pick up a few more players after The Ashes have been aired on prime-time TV.
“It might inspire some people to pick up a bat or a ball.”
The Robins Oval project was funded by $150,000 through the NSW Government’s ICC T20 World Cup 2020 Cricket Legacy Fund, $200,000 via the Australian Cricket Infrastructure Fund (ACIF) and council.
For more sports stories:
- REAL NRL: No sign of the action slowing down in final run home
- Maitland cricketers catch $1.9m windfall
- Hunter teams celebrate success at Junior State Titles
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