Former Williamstown scoreboard attendant Geoff van Wyngaarden was going for his daily after-work run when he noticed something different about the view of his home-away-from home, the Williamstown Cricket Ground.

The 36 year old scoreboard at Williamstown, Victoria was demolished last Wednesday, 9 November. A servicable and solid structure (well, a tin shed shed on stilts), it will be replaced with a building that houses a curator’s shed, public toilets and an electronic digital scoreboard.

The new scoreboard will be operated via laptop from the new $8million grandstand at the southern end of the ground.

Garry Jeremiah (footy club handyman and one of the finest barrackers in the land) kept the scoreboard clock ticking after vandalism two summers ago. The trick, he said, was having the right amount of lead at the base of the arm.

The Williamstown nameplate, seen here lying face-down in the dirt, was welded/soldered/rusted on. No south-westerly gale was going to budge it. But progress, that’s another thing.

The Williamstown Cricket Club, which shares Burbank Oval with Williamstown Football Club, is enjoying the new training facilities that are part of the ground’s redevelopment.

The history of Williamstown’s scoreboards was one of Scoreboard Pressure’s first posts. (Not surprising, given that co-editor Vin Maskell is the Williamstown scoreboard attendant.)

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