(Editor’s Note: appreciations of Mani Subramanya (India) and Keith Elloy (Singapore) can be found elsewhere at http://ccnsw.com/index.php/about-us/club-legends/ )
Test and Other Full Internationals
Richard Collinge (born April 1946)
Former New Zealand cricketer, who played 35 Tests and 15 ODIs. He was New Zealand Cricket Player of the Year in 1971. Left arm fast medium swing bowler and right hand tail end batter who retired after a 13 year test career in 1978. At the time he was New Zealand’s greatest wicket-taker, with 116 wickets at 29.25 each. First New Zealander to take 5 wickets in an ODI, 5 for 23 vs India 1976. Also held the then record for the highest 10th wicket partnership in Test cricket (151 runs with Brian Hastings vs Pakistan in 1973) which was broken in 2013 and then highest score by a number 11 batter with 68*.
Emigrated to Sydney and in his late forties in the 1990s played several seasons for CCNSW and was part of the premier winning Masters (over 40s) team in 1996-97.
W.J. (“Blinks”) Watson 1931-2018 – Australia Test Player
A right-hand opener, Bill Watson scored 155 in his second first-class match against MCC at Sydney in 1954-55 which won him selection for the final Test of that series, also at the SCG, making 18 and 3. That earned him a place on the tour of West Indies which followed. He played a further three Tests in the Caribbean without any success, although he made some good scores in first-class cricket. In addition to his four Test matches he played a further 41 first class games. He retired from first class cricket in 1961
In Sydney club cricket, he started with Waverley before switching to St George, where he spent the majority of his career. Watson played 18 seasons with the St George Saints and became a legendary figure of the club. In 258 first grade matches, Watson scored 10,757 runs at an average of 43.20, including 16 centuries and 70 half-centuries.
After retiring from St George, he continued to play club cricket in his early forties and in the early 1970s, played a few seasons regularly for the Cricketers’ Club of New South Wales after it entered the City and Suburban competition in 1971. The C&SCA Annual Report notes in the 1972-73 season, he scored five fifties in his first seven innings. He captained the team in 1974-75 when he topped the CCNSW batting with 322 runs at 40.25 and shared a then record opening partnership of 103 with our (then) future President Gordon Salier
Over 50s Internationals
Bill Blair – Australia Over 50s and Over 60s
Bill Blair, a fast bowling all rounder also capable of scoring centuries, was part of the Australian side that won the Over 50s World Cup in Sydney on 5 December 2018. Australia won a close match to defend 165 by 3 runs against Pakistan. Bill contributed well with a quality bowling spell of 9-0-33-2, and a catch in the field. Bill Blair was also part of the ashes winning Australian side that whitewashed England 3-0.
Read an interview with Bill Blair after the Final.
Bill represented the over 60s Australian Team touring England in July 2023, playing five ODIs for “the Grey Ashes” and in the Over 60s World Cup in Chennai in February/March 2024 where Australia beat England in the final. He was also selected as a member of a World Cup XI.
In 2024-25 Bill was selected for the home “Grey Ashes” series, won by Australia 3-2 ,and a tour to New Zealand won by Australia 3-0 and returned to the UK for the away “Grey Ashes” in June 2025, tied 2-2.
Brett James – Over 50s Australian Team 2023
Brett James is a left hand swing bowler and aggressive left hand middle order batter who represented Australia in the 2023 Over 50s World Cup in Capetown and on the 2024 Over 50s Tour to UK and Ireland.
Luke Jarvis – England Over 50s
Left hand orthodox spinner and tail end right hand bat. As a youngster played for CCNSW in Sydney 1990-1992 as a left arm fast bowler but after breaking his ankle at aged 24, switched to slow left arm. Toured West Indies with CCNSW in 2011
Has played approximately 20 times for England over 50s which includes 3 successive wins v Australia over 50s. Has represented MCC on 18 international tours; represented Cumberland CCC in Minor Counties and Yorkshire over 50s (winners of English Counties over 50s championship in 2023 and 2024).
Played most of his club cricket in Yorkshire (with 2 seasons in Australia 90/92 & one in South Africa 92/93). Over 2000 premier league wickets to date in his career including over 400 in competitive Bradford Premier League, plus over 150 MCC caps.
Philip Melville ‘Double International’ – Wales and Over Australian Over 50s and Over 55s Teams
Philip Melville is a medium fast swing bowler and aggressive right hand middle order batter who represented Australia in the 2023 Over 50s World Cup in Cape Town and has also (qualifying by marriage and residency) represented Wales v Ireland
Currently plays for CCNSW “Classics” over 50s Competition in Sydney.
Jim Morrison New Zealand over 50s Manager
Jim Morrison is the manager of the New Zealand over 50s team. He has been deeply involved in masters/veterans cricket over the last 6-7 years and helped set up International Masters Cricket (IMC), the world governing body for Masters cricket. Before that he took his nomadic side “The Occidentals” all over the world and also played on tours with the Cricketers’ Club of NSW to North America in 2015, Nelson New Zealand in 2017 and Christchurch in 2019.
Over 60s Internationals
Bill Blair Australia Over 60s (see profile above)
Wasantha Hettiarachchi Sri Lanka over 60s and Australian over 70s
Slow right arm bowler and lower order batter who played for CCNSW 2016-2019 before moving to the Sri Lanka Lions. Dual international who has represented both Australia and Sri Lanka.
Represented Sri Lanka at the inaugural over 60s World Cup at Sunshine Coast in September 2022. Also represented Australia over 70s on tour to New Zealand in March 2025.
Scott McCallum New Zealand Over 60s
Right hand medium fast bowler and lower order bat. Played First Grade Sub-District cricket in Melbourne with Croydon and as an 18 year old played in their 1984 Premiership winning side. After playing cricket for SRC in Singapore, became a regular player for the Cricketers’ Club before moving to Wellington, New Zealand in 2004 where he plays with local club side Karori P&T. Has toured Sri Lanka, England (4 times), Holland, Malta, Ireland, South Africa, West Indies, Samoa and North America with the Club.
Scott has also represented Wellington in both the Over 50s and now Over 60s teams in the NZ Inter Provincial Tournaments and the national New Zealand Over 60s in the 0-3 series loss against Australia in 2025. The three 45 over games were held in Blenheim and Christchurch New Zealand. While in each game the ‘Kiwi’ managed to get into a winnable position having Australia 5/50 odd in each game, the batting depth and bowling and fielding all round strength got the Australians home.
Dr. Sittampalam Ragavan – Sri Lanka Over 60s
Top order right hand batter and medium pace bowler, Sittampalam Ragavan (“Raga”) has been a long standing member of the CCNSW Classics and Vintage teams playing in the Classics over 50s premiership winning team in 2015/16 and the Vintage over 60s back-to-back champion teams in 2022/23 and 2023/24. He worked in Zambia and South Africa focusing on Academic Family Medicine and Emergency Medicine before moving to Australia in 2000
Raga represented Sri Lanka in both the inaugural Over 60s World Cup on the Sunshine Coast, Australia in September 2022 and in Chennai, India in February/March 2024 where Sri Lanka finished 4th.
Stuart Ridge – Australian Over 60s
Stuart Ridge has played cricket for CCNSW as an opening bowler since the early 1990s. After taking an extended break from cricket , he returned in the 2017 in Veterans over 50s and over 60s games with impressive figures which saw him selected for the Australian over 60s team for the Caribbean Cup in Barbados (February 2023), Canada Cup in Toronto (September 2023),the World Cup winning squad in Chennai (February/March 2024) and the “Grey Ashes” tour to the UK (June 2025).
Over 70s
Wasantha Hettiarachchi – Australia Over 70s (see profile above)
Harry Solomons – Sri Lanka and Australia Over 70s
Harry Solomons played his early cricket in Sri Lanka as a fast right hand bowler and elegant top order left hand batter before migrating to Australia aged 25. Toured South East Asia with CCNSW in 1991 and Christchurch in 1992. Played several seasons in the 1990s with CCNSW o40s Masters before moving to the Sri Lanka Lions in the Sydney Veterans’ Leagues.
A dual country international veteran cricketer: – first represented Australia in two Over 70s Tours, one to England and the other to New Zealand. Then played for Sri Lanka in July – August 2024 in the over 70s World Cup in England and was nominated ‘Man of the Match’ vs Australia.
LMS
Rhys Longbottom – Australian LMS Team
‘A hard-hitting left handed batsman and pacy swing bowler, Rhys Longbottom was selected for the Australian side to play at the LMS World Cup in Kenya in June 2024. His strong all-round performances (which included an unbeaten 55 off just 23 balls against Singapore and 7 wickets in the tournament at an average of 16) helped LMS Australia reach the semi finals, where they bowed out in a tight loss to eventual tournament winners Bangladesh. Longbottom’s selection for LMS Australia came off the back of a fine couple of summers with the bat, during which he averaged 68 for the Cricketers’ Club of NSW LMS team.’
CCNSW at the Over 60s World Cup`
A couple of CCNSW members were in Canada for the recently completed Over 60s World Cup.
Former C&S regular and CCNSW tourist , Scott Callum, was a member of the New Zealand team who were joint winners (shared with England due to final being washed out).
Defending champions Australia were beaten in the semi-finals with Bill Blair playing in his 3rd World Cup (1 x 50s, 2 x 60s).
