For more than 90 years, the Wanderers Cricket Club (Queensland) has been travelling country roads to bring the game of cricket to towns where professional coaching is rare and opportunity even rarer.
Established in 1933 by the Governor of Queensland, the club was created with a clear mission: to foster cricket across the state, particularly through secondary school engagement and country outreach. That legacy continues today through school fixtures, coaching clinics and an annual pre-season country tour, which rotates through different regions every three years.
Club President Brad Murphy has seen that tradition up close, having first joined the Wanderers in the 1980s as a Queensland Country wicketkeeper before captaining the side and eventually stepping into the role of President.
“Since the passing of the great Lew Cooper I have taken on the reins of the presidency to ensure that the club powers into the future and gives all country cricket followers the opportunity to learn and love our sport.”
Each year in August, a travelling group of players, umpires, scorers and supporters hit the road to play games against local sides and run cricket clinics for junior players. This year, the team will depart Brisbane on Wednesday 13 August, visiting Yeppoon, Mackay, Proserpine, Bowen, Home Hill, Clermont and Maryborough before returning on Sunday 24 August.
The touring squad will include 15 to 16 cricketers from a range of backgrounds – Brisbane grade players, retired players, country representatives and a member of Queensland’s Imparja Cup Indigenous team. They’ll be joined by umpires, a scorer and other supporters.
“We’ve been to hundreds of country towns over the past five decades. We do a Northern, Western and South Western route, and have also tracked into Northern NSW and Far North Queensland. We try to change where we visit each time. The response we get from locals is always one of appreciation that we are prepared to visit them.”
The club’s coaching efforts are supported by Upskill Cricket and Queensland Cricket’s development department, with local kids encouraged to attend sessions in each town.
“All Wanderers players take part in the coaching before each fixture. We run short clinics in each town, and Upskill Cricket do many extra country visits throughout the year aside from the Wanderers coaching tours and are going strong.”
The club also runs fixtures during the school summer terms against secondary school First XIs. These matches give students valuable experience playing against adult cricketers while allowing Wanderers players to give back to the game.
The Wanderers’ impact reaches far beyond the pitch. Over the years, the club has hosted a long list of Queensland and Australian representatives including Matt Hayden, Carl Rackemann, Geoff Dymock, Stuart Law, Joe Burns, Brendan Nash, Mike Kasprowicz and former national coach John Buchanan.
“It really is fantastic to come across various cricketers years down the track whom we have helped in some way. Many a cricket career has begun by the player being talent spotted in a Wanderers fixture.”
As a not for profit organisation affiliated with Queensland Cricket, the Wanderers rely on community support, sponsorship and generous partners such as the Lords Taverners, Bulls Masters, the Australian Cricketers’ Association and others to fund their tours and coaching work.
“We try and run the odd fundraiser and we are very lucky to have the support of some tremendously kind supporters. Without their contributions, it would be tough to keep going.”
As this month’s community gift recipient, the Wanderers will put the $500 donation towards their junior coaching programs where they visit an outpost and provide several hours of skill drills and advice to up and coming young players or simply to introduce young ones to the game for the first time.
“When folk remember us years down the track and simply mention that we have helped them in their love of cricket it makes us smile.”
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