The History Of the Ajax cricket Club and beyond
Cricket in Ajax started as a result of a church picnic. During the summer of 1960, The Holy Trinity Anglican Church had their annual picnic at the Greenwood conservation area. To entertain the menfolk, a game of cricket was organized — “Canadians versus the new immigrants from England”. Playing gear was provided by a member of the congregation whose grandfather played the game prior to World War I. The game proved to be a great success.
In 1961, with enthusiasm running high, twelve born-again cricketers began the first full season on the Ajax High School grounds. The club played 10 games and lost all of them rather badly.
In 1963, expansion of the Ajax High School was begun and the new cricket club was forced to look for new playing facilities. In those early years, the boundary of the town of Ajax ended approximately where the hospital is now located. The land south of the hospital consisted mostly of scrub, swamp and woodlands. At the time, Perini, a land development company, owned most of the undeveloped land around Ajax. The club approached Mr. Dana Grant, manager of Perini, for permission to develop a flat section of land suitable for turning into a cricket ground.
In the fall of 1964, work was started on leveling 5 acres (now bordered on the north by Barr Street, the west by Monarch Avenue, and Dryer to the south). Clearing the designated cricket area proved to be an exciting adventure. With wives and children in attendance, it was decided to burn off the excessive scrub and tall grass. Soon the whole area was covered with small fires that nearly got out of control as a strong west wind fanned the flames. The area chosen was not as flat as it appeared before the burn-off. Using power mowers, a borrowed Massey-Ferguson tractor and plough, the ground was leveled and seeded.
To finance the development of the ground and proposed clubhouse, a dance was organized at the old Community Centre. Over the years, the club has organized and successfully run 40 dances that, through the first 20 years of the club’s operation, provided most of the finances for the club.
In the spring of 1965, an old motel unit was purchased for $50 and converted into a clubhouse. Although small, it served as a change room and place of shelter during the hot summer. The first game on the new ground was against the Peterborough Cricket Club. We lost.
Because of its location in the wilderness of south Ajax, vandalism was a constant threat. In 1966, just 2 years after completing the ground and rebuilding the motel unit, vandals struck. The small building was destroyed by fire. Discouraged but not beaten, plans were drawn up for a new clubhouse. The building, 24’ x 16’ of wood construction, contained a change room, small kitchen, and a meeting room. Financed by the continued success of Spring and Fall dances, work began on the new building in the fall of 1966. With the help of all members, it was completed in just 6 weeks.
The 1967 Centennial year was celebrated by the club having special invitational matches against selected clubs from around Ontario. The club began to grow in reputation, members and assets. An old set of Toro gang mowers was purchased and made new by members Geoff & Bob Thompson. Soon a small tractor along with the new grass cutting equipment made the cricket field the envy of most clubs that came to visit. An extension was built to accommodate our new machinery. Practice facilities were built and water pipes were laid to the center of the field to keep the wicket in good condition
The club decided to enter the Toronto District Crocket League. Starting in thr 4th Division, it was not long before the Ajax Crickt Club made its mark in to the competitive cricket circles. Things were going too well.
In 1973, just before the new season was about to start, vandals struck again.
The building was burned to the ground leaving only the scorched tractor chassis
and twisted steel of the gang mowers as a monument of the good times we had.
With no building or grass cutting equipment, the 1973 season began. The field
was cut by members using their own power mowers and four abreast would cut the
field each week taking about 3 hours to complete the job. At this time, Gord
Bradley, then the Town Recreation Director, offered help to the club. This came
in the form of a 32’ x 16’ building no longer needed by the Town.
Gord arranged to have the building moved. It was a grand structure, having windows
along the front from which to view the game. In short time, dressing rooms were
added, doors fixed, window shutters added, a coat of paint applied. The clubhouse
was as good as new.
In 1974, the club had expanded in terms of membership. We had won the 4th division cricket title and moved directly to the 1st Division where the competition was much stronger. To accommodate the newer members, another 4th Division team was entered. This along with the “friendly team” upon which the Ajax Cricket Club was founded, saw the club with 3 Teams. They were busy times.
1977 was to be the highlight year for the club. We learned that the “ Lords Taveneres Cricket Club” from England was going to tour Canada. The team would consist of mostly professional cricketers, five of them had played test cricket for England. Ajax was asked to play them in July. Three weeks before the game, vandals once again broke in and once again set fire to the inside of the clubhouse. This time the Ajax Fire Department rescued the exterior of the building, but the inside was gutted and ruined with smoke and water. It was decided to make what repairs could be done to fix the place up before the arrival of the English players. Working every evening and weekend, the inside was made presentable. The paint was still wet when our visitors arrived. We lost again.
In 1978, Perini land Development Corporation informed the club that it would have to vacate the land as development of the area was about to begin. Once again Gord Bradley came the rescue. Approached by the club executives for help in finding a new playing area, Gord indicated that property owned by the Town Of Ajax, located where what is now known as the corner of Monarch and Clements Road, could be suitable. The area was small, too small for a cricket field and more importantly, were mostly swamp land. Fortunately for the club, excavation for the new apartments across from the Ajax Hospital was about to begin. Mr. Bradley arranged for the excavated soil to be dumped in the swamp area. Truckloads of earth were brought in while a grader began leveling the area. Soon the cricket field began to take shape. The swamp disappeared beneath ten feet of fill.
1979 brought
about continued activity. More fill was needed to expand the East boundary and
also to level areas that had settled after the winter thaw. Plans were submitted
to the Ajax council for a new cricket pavilion. It was to be an ambitious project
consisting of dressing rooms with showers, kitchen, ladies and men’s washrooms,
dance and main lounge areas for a total of 1700 square feet.
Plans were approves. Mr. Robby Robinson, the Town engineering consultant, offered
his considerable experience in supervising the construction. Work began in the
fall of 1979, and was completed 18 months later. The official opening of the
ground and building was september20, 1980. Apart from the concrete foundations,
the new building was constructed by the friends and members of the club.
In 1981, an artificial wicket was laid while practice nets and a 12’ x 16’ storage shed were constructed. Finally the facilities were complete and the members were able to concentrate on playing cricket.
It has been a great success story. Teams from the West Indies, Bermuda, England, Australia, India and the U.S.A have all enjoyed and admired the cricket facilities in Ajax. We were even fortunate to host an International “friendly” match between Team Canada and India in September of 1997, just before the start of the Sahara Cup in Toronto.
So much for history. Now 1998, the present clubhouse is nearly 20 years old. This year brought news from the International Cricket world that Canada won the right to host the 2001 International Cricket Conference(I.C.C.) world qualifier tournament, and that the Ajax Cricket Club will be hosting many of these games. The I.C.C. committee visited our ground to inspect the facilities and requested that 3 official turf wickets be installed and the East boundary extended. The work was completed in late September, 1998.
In the
next 2.5 years, the members of the Ajax Cricket Club will devote their time
and energy to improving the ground and facilities to insure the success of the
2001 I.C.C. games in Canada as we take our diverse club into the new millennium.