Early Cricket in the District
The district now known as Bentleigh, was formerly known as East Brighton up until 1907.
Newspaper reports tell us that cricket was strong in East Brighton district as early as 1874. The East Brighton CC of the time included names such as Elin, Courtney, Hansen, Kennedy and Simmonds through at least to 1902. These names became synonymous with the Ellindale CC. There were other teams such as South East, Boundary and Bentleigh Wesleys and some players from the clubs can also be linked to Ellindale CC.
Our Foundation
On the 25th of August 1909, a cricket club was formed, known as "Ellindale Cricket Club" to represent the Bentleigh district. The Club played on a ground owned by Mr W. Ellin that was situated opposite the Gardener's Arms Hotel (now known as the McKinnon Hotel). The ground was commonly known as "Ellin's paddock". The first Captain of the Club was Mr Percy Ellin, and Mr William G Burgess was the first Club President.
In 1914, William Burgess, along with a number of other local identities, signed a "Declaration of Trust" to purchase land for the construction of a sporting oval which became known as the Bentleigh Recreation Reserve. The ground is located in Arthur St, Bentleigh and is where the Club plays to this day.
On the 5th of August 1915, the Club changed its name from Ellindale to the "Bentleigh District Cricket Club".
The entities of the Bentleigh District Cricket Club and the Bentleigh Footballers Cricket Club (formed on the 27th of August 1931) came together on 1933 as the "Bentleigh Footballers Cricket Club" and joined the Moorabbin & District Association which is now known as the Moorabbin Cricket Association.
The Club enjoyed considerable success in the MDCA / CMCA and on the 17th of August 1950, in preparation for moving from matting cricket to turf cricket, the name of the Club was changed to the "Bentleigh Cricket Club".
The Pavilion
William Burgess was the driving force behind the new pavilion being built at Bentleigh Recreational Reserve, however, he died in November 1916 before its completion. The new pavilion was officially opened in October 1917 and was named the William G. Burgess Pavilion in his honour. Unfortunately the Burgess pavilion burnt down in June 1928. A new grander pavilion was built and officially opened in March 1930. This pavilion was remodelled over the years but was demolished in 1983 to make way for the current pavilion that was built and officially opened in October 1984.
Current Standing
In 1952 a turf wicket was laid at the ground and the Club joined the Victorian Junior Cricket Association (then the Victorian Turf Cricket Association) and played in that Association up until 2016 - 17 when it joined the newly formed Cricket Southern Bayside (CSB) association.
The Club has won a record six Senior Division premiership pennants in the VTCA in the following years; 1968-69, 1975-76, 1976-77, 1984-85, 1992-93 and 1999-2000. In 2006-07 the Club were the VTCA South A1 Premiers and in 2009/10 were the VTCA South Division Premiers, winning promotion back to Senior Division. In it's second year in the CSB association BCC won the Championship Division premiership in the 2017-18 season.
The Club presently fields five senior mens teams who all play on turf, plus three senior womens teams. The Club's numerous junior teams are made up of Rookies, under 12s, under 14s and under 16s are all affiliated with the South Eastern Cricket Association. Our girls teams compete in the All Girls Cricket competition.
In season 2008/09 the Club celebrated its 100th season.
