On Friday, 17 February, our cricketing community came together for a wonderful Festival of Cricket at Manuka Oval.
A highly successful and enjoyable day of cricket saw three matches drawing players from a broad cross section of our local community, beginning with a Multicultural T20 match (supported by the Sydney Thunder) which set the tone for the day, and with a carnival atmosphere and the sounds of supporters and drums from the stands, not unlike Canberra’s famed multicultural festival.
This match was a great display of the wonderful diversity in our amazing cricket community, with the players thoroughly enjoying their chance to play on Manuka Oval.
Image Id: 6088D0CD5E754472AF72FC0EAE3B7EDE Image Caption: Players from the Multicultural T20 teams on Manuka Oval. Photo by Flynn Hopkins Photography.
A 15-over-a-side Chairman’s XI v Chief Minister’s XI followed and had built up nicely during the week with quite the sledging match going on between our Chair Greg Boorer and the CM’s team captain, Minister Chris Steel MLA, prior to the game. But the game was played in good spirits throughout, with young gun Rachel Carroll’s unbeaten 78 guiding the Chair’s XI home by 45 runs.
These teams were made up of current and former players, business people, local artists, politicians and Canberra media personalities. Some hadn’t played cricket before, and plenty hadn’t played for a long period of time, but all loved the opportunity to grace the hallowed turf and experience the thrill of having their names in black and white on the Jack Fingleton scoreboard.
Image Id: 35406A7938FA475F82F24A0F2067FC70 Image Caption: Chief Minister Andrew Barr MLA tossing the coin before commencement of play with Chief Minister's XI captain, Minister Chris Steel MLA and Chair's XI captain, Greg Boorer, at Manuka Oval, 17 February 2023. Photo by Flynn Hopkins Photography.
Image Id: D1A1D74EB28D400981C87624F8A2C127 Image Caption: Chief Minister Andrew Barr MLA presenting a cricket cap to one of our Afghan women's players. Photo by Flynn Hopkins Photography.
In the evening, we welcomed the Australian Cricketers Association (ACA) Masters Team to the field to take on our ACT XI.
With some current and former cricketing legends on the field this could have been anyone’s game, but the ACT XI walked away victors by just 3 runs, with Dean and Peter Solway combining for a 77-run partnership to help rein in the ACA’s total, which had threatened to get away with some big hitting from Alex Ross.
Notable mention to the ACT’s Grace Lyons, who at the conclusion of play was awarded an ACA Master scholarship with mentoring from Jason Krejza. Congratulations, Grace!
Image Id: 175175B55A084EA088F4CE8C372553B6 Image Caption: ACT player Grace Lyons standing with ACA Masters player, Jason Krejza, on Manuka Oval at the end of the ACA Master v ACT XI match on 17 February 2023. Photo by Flynn Hopkins Photography.
In between all the action there was time for a high catching competition and relay race for our local cricket clubs. Congratulations to ANU cricket club for taking out the relay race and a $500 voucher from Capital Trophies, while the catching comp winners all claimed vouchers with thanks to the Greg Chappell Cricket Centre.
Importantly the day was designed as a community event to raise funds for an important cause; the purchase of Automated External Defibrillators (AEDs) for our local cricket clubs.
Our fundraising efforts were held in conjunction with Heart of the Nation, an Australian charitable organisation Founded and Managed by former Yellow Wiggle, Greg Page, who suffered a sudden cardiac arrest during a performance by the Original Wiggles, for a charity fundraiser.
At the end of the concert, Greg collapsed at the side of the stage, and CPR was performed on him for 13 minutes by four bystanders. A defibrillator was brought to the scene, and Greg was shocked twice before his heart restarted just as emergency medical services arrived on the scene.
Greg knows first-hand the importance of having access to a defibrillator in these circumstances.
Sadly, one of our own cricket clubs, the Sultans cricket Club, experienced a similar situation last year, with the loss of a much-loved member who suffered cardiac arrest at the cricket field.
The positive news to come out of our Festival of Cricket is that we raised enough funds to purchase a new defibrillator for our local cricket community. The $1.8k raised was through generous donations from those who came through the gate at Manuka and a charitable $1,000 donation from the Barton Cricket Club, who wanted to do their bit for the cause in support of their teammate and ACT legend, Bronwyn Calver.
We cannot extend enough thanks to all who contributed and for the generosity of the Barton Cricket Club for its large donation.
Image Id: 4537434BE2814E7594A6450C2ECDF8CF
But wait, there’s more…
In addition to this, our partners and friends at Capital Chemist added to the cause by donating a defibrillator to Cricket ACT. Group Business Manager, Andrew Topp said, “When we saw that cricket was raising funds with an interest in AEDs, it was almost impossible for us not to contribute”.
Capital Chemist has two community defibrillator programs active; one for local pharmacies to ensure they have an AED onsite, and a second, to see the donation of AEDs to community program partners.
In recent times Capital Chemist has donated six AEDs to community partners. Cricket ACT is extremely grateful to be another lucky community partner to receive this wonderful donation.
On the Saturday following our Festival of Cricket, our CEO Olivia Thornton, Community Cricket Lead, Adrian Brunker, along with the ACA Masters visited the Sultans Cricket Club to deliver the defibrillator donated by Capital Chemist. The gesture was well received by the club, especially given their recent tragedy.
Image Id: FD8F3CE1BE9C4D42A36B4E407569DD0F Image Caption: Group photo of the ACT Sultans Cricket Club with members of Cricket ACT and the Australian Cricketers Association Masters' team for the presentation of a Capital Chemist defibrillator. Photo by Flynn Hopkins Photography.
Thank you, Capital Chemist, for your support of cricket in the ACT and helping keep our players safe, on and off the field.
We have rated our Festival of Cricket a huge success and are looking to see how we can make it a bigger and better permanent fixture in the Cricket ACT events calendar, so stay tuned!
Image Id: 5B6EC5B9B55A4657ABF57F79494391AC Image Caption: The Chief Minister's XI and Chair's XI teams posing for a group photo in front of the Jack Fingleton scoreboard on Manuka Oval, 17 February 2023. Photo by Flynn Hopkins Photography.