Had fun commentating and umpiring the Laneway Cricket local Derby headed up by Dirk Nannes for the Renegades and James Pattinson for the Stars. Julie Hunter was also present for the VicSpirit. Great work Stephanie Newton from Cricket Victoria pulling it together and Ray Kuffer for umpiring.
-Marcus
The Victorian Indigenous Cricket Team had a hit out against a composite side from the Master Blasters Corporate Twenty20 Cricket Competition, playing a Twenty20 match at Harry Trott Oval in Albert Park last Sunday.
The match was held as part of the final training session for the Victorian representatives before they head off to the Imparja Cup to be held from February 7-12 in Alice Springs. The tournament is the premier showcase of indigenous cricket talent in Australia.
The match was also a useful warmup for the The Master Blasters Corporate Twenty20 players who are about to start their 5 week season. Master Blasters organisers Kate East and Jeremy DeZylva started the week night competition for business people unable to to commit to weekend cricket. The competition is now in its second year and involves 10 teams from significant Melbourne corporations.
As well as attracting some decent cricketers, Master Blasters have also worked hard to support community initiatives through its charity partners Sacred Heart Mission and Urban Seed’s Credo Cricket Program. Indian student, Ashish Narula who plays for Urban Seed’s Indian Tigers Indoor Cricket Team joined the Master Blasters and was most impressed with the talent of the Indigenous team.
“They were very fast bowlers. I could barely hit it, let alone off the square!”
After being hit for the biggest six he had ever seen he said,
“I was happy, I finally got a stumping with my topspinner!”
More great photos of the day can be found at the Cricket Victoria Flickr site here
Had fun catching up with the Police and Fire-ies at Victoria University in Footscray yesterday with cricket the vehicle to promote safety and harmony with international students. Full Report here. Commissioner Overland had obviously worked on his batting since our last hit out on Australia/Indian Republic Day!
Having had some pretty difficult issues to face over the last two years with regards to violence and problems in the international student ‘industry’ it was good to see some goodwill and see that some progress has been made. This has been symbolised in the final match of the season for Urban Seed’s Credo ‘Indian Tiger’s’ Indoor Cricket Team which has been playing in the Footscray area over the last two seasons as a way of supporting students and even won a grand final. Vegetarian Pizza seemed like a nice way to finish before the outdoor cricket season commences proper. We are hopeful that more newly arrived students will be able to connect with local cricket clubs as a result.
– Custard
Phil Yew, Merv Hughes & David Boon run the Diwali Cricket Match.
The Diwali Festival which is the Hindu/Indian Festival of Lights was held at the iconic Whitten Oval in Footscray this week. Urban Seed’s Credo Cricket got involved through local MP Marsha Thompson who was promoting the concept at the recent Harmony in Cricket Forum which discussed the current issue of social inclusion for Indian students.
At the event Victoria’s Acting Premier Rob Hulls said that “Victorians want to work very closely with the Indian community to make sure that … members of our multicultural community are welcomed,”.
“We are an open community; we’re a welcoming community; we’re a peaceful community; and we certainly encourage people from all over the world to come here to Victoria.”
“Diwali is one of India’s most significant festivals – it celebrates goodness and victory over evil and spiritual darkness,” he said.
“At Diwali celebrations over a billion hands across the world will light a billion candles and its certainly a light we’re proud to shine here in Victoria.”
Partnering with Cricket Victoria the cricket match starred David Boon and Merv Hughes (the David Boon being the Credo Cricket variety!) Boony umpired and Phil ‘Yewbeaut ‘ Yew commentated. This was a great opportunity to showcase cricket in the community in Footscray. Congrats to Boony who did an awesome job and had big Merv smiling by the end of it all. The highlight was the Bollywood dancers during the innings break.
Local Newspaper report and photos here.
Laneway Cricket inspires match between Victoria Police and Indian Students
Report from Urban Seed
Report from The Age
