Crusaders Cricket Australia

HALL OF HONOUR

Sir Michael Parkinson CBE

Sir Michael Parkinson, long-time Crusaders Patron, host and cricketing 'eminence grise', has agreed to accept Hall of Honour membership.

His relationship with the Crusaders was more or less cemented over twenty years ago when, perhaps misguidedly, he invited three Crusaders to a Grange Hermitage tasting at his wondrous riverside property in Bray.

Two of the three, namely Sir Ron Brierley and Swan Richards, had already established impressive credentials for red wine Sir Michael Parkinson appreciation and consumption; Sir Michael at that time was abstaining from the grape so it was an especially generous gesture and one on which the thirsty Crusaders capitalised with some gusto.

As a sort of recompense, the Crusaders/Essendon quick, PC Gerard Cull, was dispatched to the Maidenhead/Bray Cricket Club for a season's secondment.

The policeman's competitive demeanour was an eye and ear opener for Sir Michael and the team, but the Crusaders link was solidified. Sir Michael has, since then, staged successive Crusaders tour finales at Bray, one of the oldest and most picturesque grounds in the country.

HALL OF HONOUR MEMBERS