Happy new year to our Leichhardt Wanderers cricket community and welcome back for

2026!

2026 is a big year for the Wanderers, as it marks 115 years since the club's inception. Obviously cricket is a much more recent undertaking, however rugby league at LW has been going strong since 1911! As one club, we will celebrate this milestone collectively in 2026 (more on this below).

We hope everyone enjoyed the holiday period and some down time from junior cricket. No doubt plenty of cricket was watched, with Australia dominating the cracking Ashes series on home soil, with a 4-1 win over their English rivals, and the Perth Scorchers remarkably claiming a record sixth men's BBL title (in only 15 seasons) - unfortunately our Sydney Sixers being on the receiving end (again!). At least Steve Smith managed to light up the Sixers' season, underlined by a massive six that hit the roof of the SCG's Brewongle stand - spectacular!

And despite the damaging winds knocking out a light tower at Blackmore Oval, our nets have been very busy over recent weekends, with many of our players getting in some additional practice ahead of our return round this weekend! No doubt everyone is keen to back into it come Saturday/Sunday (and there might be a few parents keen to get their little ones back to school!).

Please read on below for the club's latest news and updates.

Welcome back BBQ at Blackmore clubhouse - Friday 6th February

As we've done over the past couple of seasons, we'll have the clubhouse open next Friday to welcome everyone into the new year, with the BBQ fired up and cold drinks on ice! We'd love to welcome our new families to the club, so encourage your teams to pop down and say 'hello', grab an easy dinner and a cold one.

We will also have uniform items for sale should the need arise, and any pre-ordered items can be collected if they haven't been prior.

115 years of Leichhardt Wanderers with the Red & Black Ball

As noted above, in 2026 the Leichhardt Wanderers Junior Rugby League & Cricket Club celebrates 115 years of existence. To headline the festivities, the Red & Black Ball event is being held on Friday 27th March, at Le Montage.

We are encouraging all our cricketing families to purchase tickets and attend the (18+) event if possible!

Get your tickets now by clicking on the graphic below.

Wanderers Medal 2026

The Wanderers Cricket Medal (known as the Noella Merrick Medal until 2024) is the club's most prestigious individual award.

The Wanderers Medal is awarded to a junior cricketer who has modelled the Spirit of Cricket and made a substantial contribution to the life of the club, on and off the field. Previous winners have included junior cricketers who have coached and supported younger teams, trained parents in online scoring or led and motivated team-mates. You can view the list of previous winners on our Honours page.

As we approach the second half of our season, please keep your eyes and ears open for potential candidates for this prestigious award. Accepted nominees and our medal winner will be announced on presentation night (see below).

We encourage nominees from all age groups and nominations can be made by coaches, managers, or any club member or their family. Nominations can be sent to us at leichhardtcricket@gmail.com

Junior Club Presentation - Saturday, 9th May

Speaking of presentations, reminder to keep Saturday, 9th May free, as we hold our annual junior club presentation evening at Blackmore clubhouse. This is the cricket club's biggest event of the year, as we hand out medals to our junior Blast participants, awards to our selected junior players and crown our major award winners: girls' and boys' champion player, plus our Wanderers Medal. Not only that but it's a fantastic fun night to come together and celebrate the season, with plenty of food and drink offerings, music and raffles!

Similar to previous years, this event will commence from circa 5pm. More details to come over the coming weeks - watch this space!

Uniform & Merchandise Orders & Sales

Reminder that our Online Shop remains open for any uniform or merchandise requirements. We will also have items available for direct purchase at our 'Welcome Back' BBQ on Friday, 6th February at the Blackmore clubhouse.

For those who have ordered items and are yet to receive them....

We will be down at Blackmore during afternoon training on Wednesday 28th January and Friday 30th January (approximately 6-7pm). Orders can be collected from our storage room on the north changeroom block.

Kindly e-mail leichhardtcricket@gmail.com if you are still in need of an order collection and intend to meet us on either of the above dates. If not, we will gladly look to make other arrangements to ensure you have your order by game day this weekend.

We are Leichhardt Wanderers Through and Through!