Harmony in Cricket Magazine 2018-19

2018–19

H A R M O N Y in C R I C K E T CRICKET IS A SPORT FOR ALL

C R I C K E T I S A S P O RT F O R A L L

HARMONY IN CRICKET Cricket Victoria is dedicated to creating places to play that unite and celebrate our philosophy that cricket is a game that welcomes everyone – a sport for all.

It is our ongoing priority to be leaders in Victorian sport through inclusive playing environments that are respectful and understanding of people from all cultures and backgrounds. Regardless of religion, gender, sexual orientation, age or ability, Victorian cricket clubs offer opportunities for people to feel at home and play the game they love.

Over the past season, we have delivered experiences across a range of program areas that unite and inspire all Victorians to love cricket, and there is much to celebrate.

WWW.CRICKETVICTORIA.COM.AU HARMONYINCRICKET HARMONYINCRICKET

If a person has a passion for cricket, cricket has a place for them.

— Harmony in Cricket Philosophy

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CRICKET VICTORIA COMMUNITY CRICKET PARTICIPATION | 2018-19

FEMALE PA R T I C I PAT I O N N AT I O N A L LY

#1

#1 120,944 4.9%

FOR PARTICIPATION NATIONALLY T O TA L PA R T I C I PAT I O N

GIRLS TEAMS

448,608

2,143

5.1%

CLUB CRICKET N AT I O N A L LY

FUNDING

$1.45M DEDICATED TO GRASSROOTS CRICKET CLUBS THROUGH PARTNERED INFRASTRUCTURE FUNDING

2.2%

15,646 VO L U N T E E R S

JUNIOR PARTICIPATION

#1

3,795 TEAMS SENIOR PARTICIPATION

4,358 TEAMS

DIVERSITY

INDOOR PA R T I C I PAT I O N

68,842

+11.6%

M U LT I C U LT U R A L PA R T I C I PAT I O N

87,135

INDIGENOUS PA R T I C I PAT I O N

4,985

PA R T I C I PA N T S WITH A DISABILITY

8,863

V I C TO R I A R E TA I N S TO P C R I C K E T PA RT I C I PAT I O N S TAT U S Victoria has retained its position as Australia’s top state for cricket participation in the Australian Cricket Census results released for the 2018-19 season.

Victoria’s total participation figure was 448,608 contributing to the national total of 1,650,030, the largest number of participants recorded in the history of the sport.

The results also demonstrate that cricket continues to be a sport of choice for women and girls as female participation in Victoria grew by nearly 5%. This included an 11.6% increase in the number of new girls’ teams taking to the field, driven by the ongoing investment in the national Growing Cricket for Girls Fund.

Females participating in cricket now makes up 27% per cent of total participants in Victoria, edging closer to our commitment in leading Australia in inspiring and supporting women and girls to love cricket. The growth of Rebel WBBL and the Australian team claiming their fourth ICC World T20 trophy continues to drive interest in cricket and creates outstanding role models for the sport to showcase. Victoria is set to put women’s cricket in the global spotlight next February when the ICC Women’s World T20 comes to Australia, with the final to be played at the MCG on International Women’s Day 2020.

Whilst declining participation in organised sport in developed countries is a global trend, Victoria has delivered an increase in Club Cricket with a total of 8,153 teams across junior and senior categories.

As a sport for all, Cricket Victoria has continued its commitment to prioritizing diversity and inclusion. This has helped support 87,135 people from a multicultural background, 8,863 people living with a disability and 4,985 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders choose to participate in Victorian cricket. This has been possible due to the ongoing support provided by the Harmony in Cricket Association.

Cricket Victoria CEO Andrew Ingleton said: “We’re proud of the fact that we continue to lead the national results for getting more people involved in cricket. The results showcase the strength of the game in this state and reflect the hard work of everyone in our cricket community – from players, coaches and administrators to curators, teachers and thousands of volunteers.”

“It’s really encouraging to see the continued growth in girls and women playing cricket. We’re committed to making cricket easier to be a part of and the results being delivered through our diversity and inclusion programs and increased participation in club cricket reflect that.”

“There is still significant work ahead of us though in attracting and retaining players, supporting the growth of our cricket clubs and improving our transition pathways from schools through to clubs,” Ingleton said.

About the Australian Cricket Census The 2018/19 Australian Cricket Census is the 18th annual audit of Australian cricket participation. The Census has become an important measure for game development, setting targets and monitoring successes and trends for the long-term enhancement of Australian cricket.

A ‘participant’ is defined by the Australian Cricket Census as someone who participates in at least four sessions of a formal cricket program in a season.

The 2018/19 census has been compiled by the Community Cricket department at Cricket Australia in conjunction with each State and Territory Cricket association.

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The A Sport For All Awards were created to highlight and celebrate community cricket and recognise the achievements of our community clubs, associations, indoor centres, community organisations, administrators and volunteers who promote diversity and inclusion.

This season’s awards ceremony was held at the CitiPower Centre for the first time on 21 March 2019, where each winner was presented with a beautiful Wathaurong Glass Award.

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2 0 1 8 /1 9 W I N N E R S AMBASSADOR OF THE YEAR

Josh Preston C O M M U N I T Y FA C I L I T Y P R O J E C T O F T H E Y E A R

Irrewarra Cricket Club C O M M U N I T Y M ATC H O F F I C I A L O F T H E Y E A R

Keith Ingram P R E M I E R C R I C K ET C LU B O F TH E YEAR

Dandenong Cricket Club C O M M U N I T Y C R I C K E T I N I T I AT I V E O F T H E Y E A R

Paul Colbert – Goulburn Murray Cricket PA RT N E R O R G A N I S AT I O N O F T H E Y E A R

Mallee Sports Assembly E N T RY L E V E L P R O G R A M O F T H E Y E A R

Edinburgh Cricket Club C O M M U N IT Y C OAC H O F TH E YEAR

Jeremey Byrne JUNIOR CRICKET CHAMPION OF THE YEAR

Ashley Ventura C R I C K E T A S S O C I AT I O N O F T H E Y E A R

Cricket Albury Wodonga C O M M U N IT Y C R I C K ET C LU B O F TH E YEAR

Youlden Parkville Cricket Club VO LU NTE E R O F TH E YEAR

Travers Zanker

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SOCIAL SIXES Social Sixes is a social cricket program designed to engage women in physical activity in a new and exciting way. The program is part of the VicHealth funded Active Women and Girls Strategy which is designed to support State Sporting Organisations toward more participation opportunities for women.

Social Sixes offers a fast alternative to traditional forms of cricket: sessions run for one hour, there is a mix of skills and gameplay, and everyone gets to have a go at all activities. No equipment is required, and activities are designed for varying skill levels, so there is no prior experience necessary.

Funding for the program has recently been renewed, extending to June 2020. This will provide greater opportunity to scale and grow the program around the state. The first 18 months showed great promise, with over 500 women and teen girls engaging in Social Sixes. Cricket Victoria’s Participation Manager, Chris Gorrie, is excited about the future of the program. He notes that, “through this funding and program, we are providing women with more opportunities, more resources, and more support than ever before. It is exciting to be a part of such an important cultural change that will hopefully see sustainable growth in women’s sport and physical activity”.

Social Sixes runs indoors and outdoors at various venues around the state. Head to the website for more information www.socialsixes.com.au

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L E A D I N G T H E W AY I N LG BT I + I N C LU S I O N Cricket Victoria is constantly striving to find new ways to make cricket a sport for all and have embarked on several research projects to address barriers to participating in cricket for the LGBTI+ community. This includes releasing our Trans and Gender Diverse Participation Guidelines that set the standard for inclusion in cricket in Victoria.

These guidelines state that people have the right to participate in community cricket in the gender category they identify with or feel most comfortable participating in.

Cricket Victoria were also awarded the Highest Ranking State Sporting Organisation for the second year in a row at the Pride in Sport Awards. The Pride in Sport Index™ (PSI) is an initiative of the Australian Human Rights Commission and Sport Australia and is the first and only benchmarking instrument specifically designed to assess the inclusion of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Intersex (LGBTI+)

people within Australian sport and sporting organisations.

Participating in the index enables Australian sporting organisations to not only assess their own practice, but learn about best practice methods for future improvements.

Cricket Victoria hosted the second annual Proud Cricket Day on Sunday 13 January 2019 to celebrate LGBTI+ inclusion in cricket, at the CitiPower Centre, Junction Oval.

Participants were able to take part in a range of activities and a social cricket match, face painting and also enjoyed a barbecue for lunch. The event was hosted in conjunction with Proud 2 Play, a not-for-profit organisation looking to increase LGBTI+ participation in sport by creating sporting environments that all people can feel comfortable in.

Proud Cricket Day is part of a broader Cricket Victoria initiative, Proud Cricket, which works to improve equity, diversity and inclusiveness by supporting clubs with education and training to support more inclusive club practices and improve club culture. In addition, the program provides participants with the skills, tools and resources to further increase inclusion of the LGBTI+ community in their club or association.

Cricket Victoria are proud to show our support for the LGBTI+ community by recognising the International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia, Intersexism and Transphobia (IDAHOBIT).

IDAHOBIT was established in 2004 as the International Day Against Homophobia to highlight discrimination experienced on the basis of sexuality and the 17th of May commemorates the day the World Health Organisation lifted homosexuality from being classified as a mental health disorder. Today, this important day has been expanded to stand up against the discrimination experienced by the entire LGBTI+ community and is recognised by people in over 130 countries around the world. In recognition of IDAHOBIT Day, Cricket Victoria changed all logos on social media, including recognition in all email signatures and hosted members of the LGBTI+ community and commercial partners at the MCG for an AFL match in May.

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I N T E R N AT I O N A L STU D E NT ACAD E MY 2019 saw the Cricket Victoria International Student Academy return for another year.

This continues a successful partnership between Cricket Victoria, Deakin University’s Business School and Study Melbourne.

The program works closely with Deakin University and Study Melbourne to provide opportunities for newly arrived students to participate in cricket. The main goals being to improve mental and physical wellbeing, break down barriers to social inclusions and provide pathways to further education and employment.

Throughout the program the students participated in: • On Campus experience during Orientation Week reaching approx. 5,000 students • 4 week skills program across campuses in Melbourne and Geelong • BBL Match Day experience at the MCG and GMHBA Stadium in Geelong, where over 500 students were in attendance • Coaching and Education courses, where 50 students were able to gain their Cricket Coaching Accreditation • University/TAFE Cup held as a pathway for students to compete in structured competition with pathways through to community cricket

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CRICKET VICTORIA’S INTERNATIONAL STUDENT ACADEMY PRESENTS

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HARMONY IN CRICKET A S S O C I AT I O N

Since joining the Victorian Metropolitan Cricket Union (VMCU) in August 2017, HiCA has had over 2,000 cricketers engaged in community cricket, with over 200 club teams competing in community T20 cricket competitions.

HiCA was developed with the aim of creating safe, accessible, inclusive and equitable sport environments for everyone in the community. It provides social cricket leagues with specific benefits includng insurance, ground allocation, MyCricket access, staff support and high-performance/junior pathway while allowing the leagues to continue to play their existing competitions.

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HARMONY HUBS Cricket Victoria’s Harmony Hubs program aims to empower and develop the refugee community, by building a strong local support base connected with the cricket community so that a long-term sustainable program can be run. Refugees can create new social and support networks for themselves through this program. This community building excercise is particularly important for newly arrived migrants who face a range of challenges including isolation, language barriers, trauma and the need to learn about Australian culture and values.

The Harmony Hub uses a multi-program long-term approach that facilitates working with clubs and communities with varying needs, the program does not take a one-sizefits-all approach. The refugees not only participate, but also create opportunities for themselves and their communities through the life skills and club education programs, which fosters a sense of contributing and belonging to their community sporting organisation. Cricket Victoria Harmony Hubs program is funded by the Victorian Government’s Multicultural Sports Fund Grants Program. The Program is a strategic partnership program aimed at increasing access and participation in sport for culturally diverse communities.

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W O O LW O RT H S M U LT I C U LT U R A L COMMUNITY CENTRE PROGRAMS The objective of Cricket Victoria’s Woolworths Multicultural funding program is to assist migrant and refugee communities to access cricket, whether it be playing, supporting or volunteering.

Cricket will be the vehicle that bridges the gap between Australia’s diverse communities and promotes inclusion within the wider Australian community.

Cricket Victoria will facilitate designated Multicultural Centres to increase the involvement of kids and families from multicultural and refugee backgrounds.

This program promotes being physically active and specifically aims to increase their involvement with the game of cricket via the national introductory Woolworths Cricket Blast program, Master Blasters.

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N AT I O N A L C R I C K E T I N C LU S I O N CHAMPIONSHIPS The National Cricket Inclusion Championships (NCIC) were held again in January in Geelong for a third consecutive year. This is always a highlight on the cricket calendar with the best players from across the Blind/Low Vision, Deaf/Hard of Hearing and Intellectual Disability Divisions on hand to showcase their talent and represent their states in a wonderful tournament.

Cricket Victoria entered a team in each division this year and had 18 teams participate in the NCIC, across the three divisions. 2019 also marked a landmark moment in the NCIC where women’s teams from both Victoria and South Australia were represented in a pair of Women’s Deaf/Hard of Hearing Exhibition Matches.

Plenty of local cricket fans attended the tournament throughout the course of the week, with the Grand Final of each division live streamed through the Cricket Australia Facebook page.

The NCIC has been a great success over the last three years and is going from strength-to-strength.

It continues to provide great opportunities for players with a disability to represent their state and provides a pathway from the grassroots level for cricketers who are blind/low vision, deaf/hard of hearing or intellectually disabled.

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B L I N D & LO W V I S I O N VICTORIA BLIND & VISION IMPAIRED SQUAD 2019 Back Row: Daniel Pritchard, John Boland, Ned Brewer-Maiga (VC), David Gauci, Callum Saunders, Matthew Cameron, Steve Obeid, Sriyan Wijeyasiri Front Row: Zac Sheehan, Dean Calder, Brendan Spencer, Brett Wilson (C), Lachlan Hayward, Nathan Luke

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The Victorian Blind and Low Vision Team performed well throughout the Championships, with the majority of their matches ending in close finishes. They were able to progress to the semi-finals where they suffered a very narrow defeat, going down to eventual runners-up South Australia. Matthew Cameron and Ned Brewer-Maiga led the way throughout the tournament as Victoria’s top scorers with 220 and 196 runs respectively over the course of the week.

INTELLECTUAL DISABILITY The Victorian Vikings arrived at the NCIC with a point to prove, after being crowned Champions in 2017 and narrowly missing out on a consecutive Grand Final berth in 2018.

The Vikings demonstrated fairly consistent cricket over the course of the week, only suffering one defeat at the hands of South Australia. Gavan Hicks proved a force throughout the entire tournament, smashing a 108 runs off 61 balls against Tasmania and contributing extremely well over the Championships, with both the bat and the ball.

Bowler Ben Smith also had a fine tournament, offering a strong attack which included figures of 5/11 in the opening match against Queensland.

The Vikings were able to go one step further in 2019, facing defending champions South Australia in the Grand Final. Once again, it was Gavan Hicks who led the way, posting a top score of 88 to help guide Victoria to their second victory in three years with a sixwicket win. Ben Smith also played a pivotal role with the ball, claiming an important 3/16 during the South Australian innings.

VICTORIA INTELLECTUAL DISABILITY SQUAD | 2019 Back Row: Brett Mackey, Craig Whitehand, Mitchell Lawrence, David Alford , Richard Curtis, Ben Smith, Steve Teloniatis, Jamie Philips, Tom Ewing (Coach), Jeff Rosolin (Asst Coach) Front Row: Patrick Wheeler, Michael Scholz, Lachlan Macrae, Gavan Hicks ©, Nathan Samuel, Shaun Martin, Kellie Tait (Manager)

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DEAF & HARD OF HEARING The Deaf and Hard of Hearing Division proved a tight contest throughout the Championships, with three teams, including Victoria, finishing the rounds on three wins and one loss. This meant that Victoria came up against South Australia in the Semi-Final. Unfortunately, they were unable to chase down South Australia’s total, going down to the eventual Premiers by 25 runs.

2019 marked the first year that the NCIC held women’s matches in the Deaf and Hard of Hearing Division. Victoria and South Australia proved the trailblazers in this field, showcasing two exhibition matches throughout the tournament.

In the first match, it was South Australia who proved too strong for Victoria, claiming a 39-run victory. However, Victoria were able to turn the tables in the second match, chasing down South Australia’s total of 120 to run away with a 6-wicket victory. Shirley Liu was Victoria’s best with the bat, scoring 46 runs across the two matches, whilst Marnie Kerridge did well with the ball, claiming three wickets over the course of both matches. We look forward to further developing female cricket in the NCIC in the years ahead.

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VICTORIA DEAF & HARD OF HEARING SQUAD 2019

Back Row: Dean Barton-Smith (C), Eddie Boal, Zac King, Glen Flindell, Tyson Hay, Ben Morrison, Michael Parremore, Kenneth Larcome, Tom Sharples, Simon Andersson (manager), Simon McPartland (scorer) Front Row: Adam Bampfield, Carl Scacco, James Hale (C), Callum Asbury (VC), Blake Pendlebury, Tony Barulovski

VICTORIA WOMEN’S DEAF & HARD OF HEARING SQUARD 2019

Back Row: Pallavai Deshmukh (physio), Kayla Trinder-Scacco, Marnie Kerridge, Jo Richards, Di Day (C), Kylie Beasley, Tamara Trinder-Scacco, Lisa Larcome Front Row: Michelle Rowlands, Melissa Hale (manager), Maria Burgess, Shirley Lui, Hadley Johnson, Sherrie Beaver Absent: Ekaterini Sakellarios Harmony in Cricket Magazine 2018 – 19

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N IC C V ICTO R IA N WOM EN’S SQU AD | 2 0 1 9 Top: Lachlan Harris – Cricket Victoria, Rhiann O’Donnell (Player Mentor), Karl Mayne, Tya Fry – Geelong CC, Emma Toseland – Glenroy CC, Crystal West – Maiden Gully Marist, Brooke Nam – Keon Park Stars CC, Janine Coombs (Player Mentor), Pallavi Deshmukh, Caitlin Honey Front: Taylor Wigg – Burnic CC (Tasmania), Jess Martin – Coburg CC, Jacinta Goodger-Chandler – Plenty Valley CC, Emma Mannix-Geeves (C) – Newton CC (Tasmania), Merinda Hale – Prahan CC, Simone Burridge – Plenty Valley CC, Molly Ward – Lucknow CC. Absent: Fiona Hale – Mt Martha CC. Coach: Karl Mayne | Team Manager: Caitlin Honey | Physiotherapist: Pallavi Deshmukh 22 |

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WO M E N’S

N AT I O N A L I N D I G E N O U S CRICKET CHAMPIONSHIPS The Victorian women’s team had an extremely successful campaign in 2019 with a squad of predominately returning players, who took on the task with great enthusiasm.

The Victorian Women’s team took on Queensland in Game 1 and set a fantastic total of 8/180 with Emma Mannix-Geeves posting an unbeaten 73*. This result lifted the mood among the team and enabled them to head into game two against New South Wales with great confidence. Unfortunately, this confidence didn’t transition onto the field, with New South Wales posting 5/179 and Victoria being bowled out for 48.

The following games saw wins against Western Australia and South Australia to book a place in the Semi Finals. There were some great individual performances within these games with Brooke Nam taking 4/7 against Western Australia and Emma Toseland finishing with 4/3 against South Australia. In the penultimate game to the finals the Victorian women had a strong win against the Northern Territory, with Molly Ward taking 3/8 to give the team some strong momentum.

In the Semi Final, the team came up once again against Queensland and posted 2/140 after their twenty overs. Emma Mannix-Geeves was a star with the bat for an unbeaten 84*, Crystal West and Molly Ward both doing the damage with the ball, taking two wickets each to dismiss Queensland for 7/120.

Booking a place in the Grand Final was an achievement in itself and against a strong New South Wales Team who posted 6/168, Emma Toseland was fantastic with 2/17. Despite the best efforts of the Victorians’ lead again by Emma Mannix-Geeves with 65, they fell short at 9/122.

Whilst not coming out on top of the tournament, the team saw some fantastic achievements as a group and as individuals. Cricket Victoria congratulates Emma Mannix-Geeves for being named as Batter and Player of the Tournament and Taylor Wigg as Fielder of the Tournament. Emma Mannix-Geeves and Jacinta Goodger-Chandler were also recognised with Black Caps.

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MEN’S

N AT I O N A L I N D I G E N O U S CRICKET CHAMPIONSHIPS 2019 was a year of sustainability for the Victorian men’s and women’s programs with two vibrant young squads chosen to challenge the best from across Australia.

The Men’s team, coached by Rohan Best (McKinnon CC) and lead

by Damon Egan (St Kilda CC), Nick Boland (Frankston Peninsula CC) and Jack O’Shea (Carlton CC) set out with a mission to develop a young and talented team that could drive standards, not just through this year’s tournament but for future years to come.

Coming up against a strong New South Wales side in the first game was always going to be a tough ask, after some promising starts

by Damon Egan (35) and Jack O’Shea (21) the team unfortunately fell short on 5/144 chasing New South Wales who posted 3/154.

The team bounced back against the hosts Northern Territory over the next couple of games including great performances by Connor Jackson (3/19) and Wade King (3/15).

Wins against South Australia, Queensland and Tasmania followed with Nick Boland hitting a sensational 86 not out to help steer the team home against the Queenslanders and 46 not out against Tasmania.

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Coming into the Semi Final, Damon Egan got the team off to a great start before being caught for 64 with Wade King supporting with a solid 31. This saw the team post a total of 3/137 after 20 overs. The challenge was up to the bowling attack which started brilliantly dismissing both Queensland openers without troubling the scorers.

Unfortunately, Jonte Pattison from Queensland was outstanding going unbeaten on 62, which helped Queensland reach the total with three balls to spare.

While the result was not what the team had hoped for, the tournament has built their confidence. As a young and emerging group, they will repesent Victoria well in the future.

Thank you to the team and coaching staff, led by Rohan Best and Steve Jackson, supported by our team physio Pallavi Deshmukh and Player Mentor Janine Coombes. Finally, a fantastic effort by Nick Boland to be named as the Batter and Player of the Tournament, whilst also receiving a Black Cap.

N IC C V ICTO R IAN M E N’S SQU AD | 2 0 1 9 Top: Steve Jackson, Mackenzie Casson – Riddells Creek CC, Nathan Gardiner – Lower Plenty CC, Nick Boland – Frankston Peninsula CC, Rhys Smith – Bendigo, Ash Sweet – Melton CC, Jack O’Shea – Carlton CC, Pallavi Deshmukh.

Bottom: Connor Jackson – Pines CC, Wade King – McKinnon CC, Brad Dolan – McKinnon CC, Damon Egan – St Kilda CC, Rohan Best, Jhiah Baxter – Plenty Valley CC, Josh Nanson – City Colts CC. Coach: Rohan Best | Team Manager: Steve Jackson | Physiotherapist: Pallavi Deshmukh Harmony in Cricket Magazine 2018 – 19

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MELBOURNE RENEGADES The success on field is a bonus but the experience and opportunity provided by programs like this are paramount to the continued relationship building with South Asian nations in Victoria.

Melbourne Renegades Champions League T20 cricket tournament is a unique competition that reflects Victoria’s culturally diverse communities by uniting them in our common love of cricket. This season the competition grew outside of our original South Asian nations in the form of an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander team.

As per last season we also welcomed back our founding teams split into country of origin; Bangladesh, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, India and Nepal.

The competition is an initiative designed to engage with multicultural communities and provides the best local cricketers with an opportunity to represent their country of origin and the Renegades. This reflects the Melbourne Renegades’ significant investment and commitment to supporting the development of community cricket in Victoria.

This season saw Team Sri Lanka take down Team India in the final of the Champions League, played in parallel with the Melbourne Renegades Family Day. The Champions Final would not be the last of the celebrations for the season. After a 9-day drought of trophy success following the Renegades BBL final win over the Stars; our Multicultural team, made up of all 7 nations, defended 125 to take the cup for a second year in a row.

The success on field is a bonus but the experience and opportunity provided by programs like this are paramount to the continued relationship building with South Asian nations in Victoria. The Renegades look forward to the fifth edition of the competition in the upcoming 2019/20 season.

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M E L B O U R N E S TA R S The Melbourne Stars embody the Harmony in Cricket philosophy and believe cricket is a game for everyone.

The Melbourne Stars had another big season off the field facilitating many community initiatives across the season. In 2018-19, the Club set up their very first men’s and women’s multicultural T20 competition – Melbourne Stars League (MSL). Five countries - India, Sri Lanka, Greece, Afghanistan and Nepal – were represented in total across both tournaments with India and Nepal claiming the men’s and women’s title respectively. The Stars would like to thank Casey Fields and Marriott Waters for hosting matches across the competition.

Following the tournament, an all-star team was selected in the men’s division to represent the Stars at a multicultural T20 tournament against the Melbourne Renegades and Sydney Thunder in Sydney.

The Stars completed the series as runners up.

In addition to the MSL, the Stars held various community themed match nights including emergency service recognition, inclusion round and the ‘Walk with the Stars’ program.

On January 9, the Stars dedicated their match to recognise emergency services with the SES and Surf Lifesaving Victoria involved. An on-field guard of honour, vision screen thank-you videos and concourse activations were conducted on the night.

The Stars inclusion round was held on January 14 with a range of activities being held including hosting members from the Chinese community, an on-field all abilities cricket demonstration, a Parade of Nations both on the concourse and in the stadium and members of the Proud2Play community also attending.

In the fifth season of the program, the ‘Walk with the Stars’ initiative sees junior premiership teams from the previous season walk a lap of honour prior to the match. This season, the Stars had 48 premiership teams involved.

The Melbourne Stars embody the Harmony in Cricket philosophy and believe cricket is a game for everyone. The Club would like to thank everyone in the community for their support during the season.

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GIRLS LEADERSHIP PROGRAM The Girls Leadership Program provides Year 7 and 8 Girls with the opportunity to develop their leadership skills via an interactive online program and face to face forums. The aim of the program is to encourage young girls to continue their leadership journey through the early years of secondary school enabling them to become positive role models as they develop into future leaders.

The program is currently in its fifth year and continues to grow. 2018 saw 200 girls participating in the online program, 110 attending the Melbourne Forum held at the CitiPower Centre in St Kilda and 80 attending the Ballarat Forum.

The face to face forums provide girls with the opportunity to come together and further develop the skills and ideas learnt in the online program.

Participants hear from various leaders on the challenges they have faced and provide the girls with the support and drive to start their journey in achieving their goals and ambitions for the future.

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YOUR LEADERSHIP SPIRIT

IGNITE YOUR CAN-DO

STAND STRONG

This module introduces the girls to a range of leadership values to help them to identify their own leadership spirit.

Participants will also hear from Leadership Ambassador, Sophie Molineux on what values define her leadership spirit.

In this module, participants begin to identify their strengths and learn to focus on what they can do rather than what they can’t do.

In addition, the girls will also acknowledge the feeling associated with a ‘can do’ mindset versus a ‘can’t do’ mindset.

In this module participants are introduced to how their confidence can be influenced by something as simple as body language.

Through the help of our Leadership Ambassadors, participants are asked to reflect on how they feel when practicing strong poses versus timid poses.

YOUR RESILIENCE SUPERPOWER

STAND UP

STRIVING FOR THE STARS

This module introduces the participants to what resilience is and how to identify when they have a high level of energy and when their energy is quite low. They will also hear from our Leadership Ambassadors on how they feel when their resilience power is full, half and empty and how they manage this.

This module gives participants strategies to use when required to stand up for themselves and others. Along with the appropriate strategies the girls are also taught when the appropriate time is to stand up for themselves and others and hear from our Leadership Ambassadors about times when they have had to stand up for themselves and others.

The final modules leads the participants through goal setting. Participants hear from our Leadership Ambassadors and begin to think about their own goal; why it is important to them and what barriers are in the way of them getting there.

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SCHOOL AMBASSADOR PROGRAM 2018 saw the continued success of Cricket Victoria’s School Ambassador Program. This program aims to recognise teachers for their contribution to supporting and increasing participation of students playing cricket in schools. As a reward for their hard work, Cricket Victoria held an awards afternoon at the MCG in February as part of the Melbourne Stars v Sydney Sixers BBL match. This afternoon was a celebration of another successful season and a chance for teachers to meet fellow cricket ambassadors in the education system.

Two teachers from each of Cricket Victoria’s 16 regions were nominated for the award with the ultimate winner being crowned School Ambassador of the Year.

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Congratulations to Josh Preston who won this year’s award.

Josh is the Physical Education Teacher at St Mary’s Primary School, Mooroopna. Throughout 2018, Josh worked tirelessly to ensure there was a healthy and strong link between St Mary’s Primary School and Mooroopna Cricket Club.

Thanks to the cricket culture Josh has created within the school, Mooroopna Cricket Club were able to have enough enthusiastic young cricketers to field two Under 12 teams, one Under 10 team and two Under 13 Girls teams in the Cricket Shepparton Junior League. Josh was also awarded the Ambassador of the Year award at Cricket Victoria’s Sport For All Awards, capping an excellent year.

REGIONS

W I N N I N G TEAC H E R

SCHOOL

REGION 1

Corrine Shore

Ranfurly Primary School

REGION 2

Leanne Willder

Hamilton North Primary School

REGION 3

Amelia Pollock & Robin Baker

Skipton Primary School

REGION 4

Chris Williams

Leopold Primary School

REGION 5

Josh Preston

St Mary’s Mooroopna

REGION 6

Carolyn Willet

Yarrawonga P-12 College

REGION 7

Debbie Dooley

Lucknow Primary School

REGION 8

Dillon Milekovic

Red Hill Consolidated Primary School

REGION 9

Scott Woolcock

Gladstone Views Primary School

REGION 10

Wes Coles

Newport Gardens Primary School

REGION 11

Kathy Tessier

Croxton Primary School

REGION 12

Billy Atkin

Clayton North Primary School

REGION 13

Richard Price

Sacred Heart Kew

REGION 14

Chris Anderson

Belgrave South Primary School

REGION 15

Braden King

Aspendale Gardens Primary School

REGION 16

Mel Dennis & Jim Narayan

Brentwood Park Primary School

Harmony in Cricket Magazine 2018 – 19

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COMMUNITY CRICKET G R ANTS P RO G R AM In December 2018, Cricket Victoria announced the successful applicants for the Community Cricket Grants Program, with over 92 clubs from around the state sharing in $200,000 funding. With a focus on developing club’s facilities and capacity, as well as boosting participation and community engagement, a number of successful projects were supported by the Australian Cricket Infrastructure Fund (ACIF), through minor facility upgrades.

Graeme Johnson, Secretary of the Seville Cricket Club, spoke about how the Community Cricket Grants Program will help their club.

“

The grant made available to the Seville Cricket Club from Cricket Victoria has enabled the refurbishment of the practice wicket nets to be completed. This will allow safe and continued use of this facility by all club members and the local community.”

Other projects supported through the program included first-aid courses, ground maintenance equipment and software.

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Harmony in Cricket Magazine 2018 – 19

5 0 Y E A R S E RV I C E Cricket Victoria held its 50 Year Service Awards on Day Three of the 2018 Boxing Day Test against India. This was the 15th consecutive year of the awards which highlight those who have contributed outstanding service as either a player, coach, official, administrator or volunteer of our great game.

Bill Birch was one of the volunteers acknowledged on the day and has contributed to local cricket for 56 years. Bill has been a main stay of local cricket at club and association level, beginning with a playing career with St Andrews Gardiner, in the Malvern/Glen Iris area, in 1962/3.

Those recognised for their service included: John Hill, Douglas Neilsen, Howard Donaldson, Paul Dillon, Donald Bruce Bienvenu, Les Quarrell, Clarrie Talbot, Ian Good, Albert Mitchell, Col Carmody, Ken Dawson, David Tomlinson, William Meaklim, Adrian Fisher, Les Jason, Robert Russell, Ross Teschendorff, Arthur Pritchard, William Birch, Raymond Hugh Collins, Wavell George McPherson, Greg McLeod, Graham Francis Bull, Barry Robert Manning, Keith Lewis Hill, Malcolm John Kirkpatrick, Ian John Ewart, Scott Fletcher, John Graham, and Rod Browning.

Cricket Victoria would like to thank all the volunteers who take the time to make cricket A Sport For All Victorians.

Harmony in Cricket Magazine 2018 – 19

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C R I C K E T V I CTO R I A WO U L D LI K E TO T HAN K T H E F O LLO W I N G PART N E RS