With The Ashes now in full swing over in Australia, and in spite of the huge rivalry, it's fair to say that Sedgefield Cricket Club's links with the land down under go back a good few years.

Back in 1993, Sedgefield began the season in the Durham County League with the 1st XI including a young Australian in the ranks. Richie Power from Perth was a hugely popular figure at the club that year, and played a big part in the team winning the league for the first (and only) time.

So, it was a wonderful reunion in late October when Richie returned to Sedgefield for the first time in 32 years. A tour of many of the opponents' grounds revealed Richie's fond - and at times photographic - memories of the matches he played, and many former players met up both at the club and in the village to reminisce over a beer or two. With a promise not to leave it so long before returning once more, Richie headed off home with plenty of laughs and stories recalled and shared.v The cricket links between Sedgefield and Australia remain strong today. This year, the club welcomed Aussie Hayden Wrigglesworth to its ranks for the season, and as I type this, three lads from Sedgefield are playing in Australia – Ben Swindale, William Hampson and former club member Freddie Lower.

As he is on the other side of the world, Ben wasn’t there in person at the North Yorkshire and South Durham Cricket Awards, to accept the Division 1 batting award. It was a great night for Sedgefield, with two other winners – George Hampson, who won the Sunday Conference North bowling award, and Ollie Johnson, who won both the Sunday Conference North batting and junior batting awards.

Sedgefield’s 1st team have reached the quarter finals of the County League Cup and are the club’s only remaining team left in this competition. Matches will recommence in the New Year. For the first time in the club’s history, Sedgefield has two teams in the top Division.

While this is a real challenge for the 2nd team, they are holding their own against some strong opposition. Sedgefield 1st team, last year’s runners up in the Durham & Cleveland Leagues, have had a slow start due to injuries and Newcastle United’s participation in the Champions League.

The 3rd team, promoted last year into Division 2, are also going to have a challenging season and are currently sitting eighth out of nine teams. The 4th team was promoted last year into Division 3 and have made strong start with four wins out of four, currently sitting second in their division with a game in hand. The 5th team are sitting comfortably mid table in Division 4, with some strong performances right across the squad. Sedgefield’s ladies’ team have only played two matches.

They are still without a win, but there are plenty of fixtures left to play. The club’s 10 internal leagues have been well supported by members, proving very popular for players of all standards, and providing the means to meet new people while keeping fit and having fun.

Club members past and present, together with their friends and families, are welcome to gather in the Herd & Herb bar on Saturday 6 December from 6:30pm onwards for drinks, food and music, to celebrate the up-and-coming festive season together. Wishing all the best for Christmas to everyone.

This year marks the 30th birthday of Sedgefield Golf Society, which has over 30 members, ranging from the age of 18 to over 80. This year was particularly special as it saw the first ‘Kevin Jones Memorial Shield’ competition, after society member Kevin passed away.

The occasion raised £170 for Cancer Research UK and the hope is to make it an annual event for charity. I’ll have more news from Sedgefield Golf Society next month.

Senior and junior members of Sedgefield Harriers have been extremely busy on the roads and in cross country races recently. In late October, Justin Cox and Lisa Darby wore the England vest in their age groups at the Abingdon Marathon in Oxfordshire, while Jane Spink did likewise at the Paris 10K.

Jane, Lisa and clubmate David Bentley have also qualified to compete in the Masters Marathon World Championships in Cape Town 2026. A couple of weeks later, Jane and Lisa celebrated by taking on the New York Marathon. Meanwhile, Sadie Abel broke her own club 10K record at the Jarrow 10K, with a time of 39 minutes and 13 seconds. These achievements represent just a snapshot of numerous excellent performances.

Away from the roads, the cross country season is in full swing and Sedgefield’s senior men top Division 3 of the North East Harrier League, after winning two of the first three fixtures. Cross country is also a big focus for the club’s junior section and the under 13 girls are having a great season. They sit fourth in the league, and recently won the fixture at Lambton.

Phoebe Grievson was second overall in the race, closely followed by Isla Shuffleton in third, with Jess Davies and Tilli Lewis completing an excellent team performance. Sedgefield’s other junior runners have also put in some strong runs, which bodes well as the club builds up to hosting the English National Cross Country Championships next February.