Originally formed by members of the Wyclif Congregational Church, Surrey Hills, the first recorded appearance of the Wyclif Cricket Club was in 1895 against the Surrey Hills Cricket Club, on a ground at the corner of Canterbury and Broughton Roads, Surrey Hills.
While records are scanty for the following years, the Club appeared in 1907/08 season in the Eastern Suburbs Cricket Association, as Wyclif Young Men.
Reformed following the First World War, the Club incorporated as the Wyclif Cricket Club Inc. in 1982, severing its link with the Surrey Hills Uniting Church at that time.
Wyclif was a foundation member of the Camberwell District Churches Cricket Association (CDCCA) in 1921, a foundation member of the Eastern Suburban Churches Cricket Association (ESCCA) in 1925, winning the first two A Grade premierships in that association on the way to a total of 17 senior and 7 junior premierships between 1925/26 and 2000/2001. It was the only club to play every season in the CDCCA and ESCCA, which in 1982/83 became the Eastern Suburban Churches and District Association (ESCDCA) competition.
Wyclif had a long standing relationship with the Camberwell Congregational Cricket Club, which first appeared in 1901, and was a member of the ESCA from 1906/07 to 1913/14 and the ESCCA from 1921/22 to 1922/23 and from 1928/29 to 1954/55. During the periods 1942/43 to 1945/46 and 1950/51 to 1954/55, Camberwell and Wyclif fielded combined teams.
Amongst many notable individual achievements for Wyclif, Theo Sambell in fifty consecutive seasons played 488 games and made 11022 runs, while Harry J. Swan took 101 wickets in 1926/27, the only player to do in the CDCCA, ESCCA or ESCDCA. Doug Robinson made 11 of his centuries for the Wyclif Club, in making 30 ESCCA centuries in total, his brother Jack made 21 centuries in total (8 for the combined Camberwell/Wyclif sides) while for Wyclif alone Philip Davis made 10 centuries and Eric Firth 9 centuries. In 1967/68, Ian Moorfield took 68 wickets in U/16 cricket, while in the Club’s best bowling performance in an innings, John Stone took 10/31 in a senior game in 1956/57 against old rivals, Highfield Road Methodists. In an outstanding senior career, Brian Firth took 439 wickets, predominantly in A Grade, between 1952/53 and 1974/75.
At the conclusion of the 1998/99 season, following the merger of the ESCDCA and Eastern Suburbs Cricket Association (ESCA) Wyclif became a member of the new ECA, one of the few Clubs to have appeared in the competitions of both the founding organisations.
Enquiries: wyclif_warriors@yahoo.com