Goodwill Cup sparkles under lights at the iconic Allan Border Field

Brisbane, 5 August: The Multicultural Community Inclusion and Engagement

Goodwill Cricket Cup (T20) between the Institute for Australia India Engagement (IAIE - South Asia XI) and Queensland Police Commissioner’s XI was held at the Allan Border Field, Albion in Brisbane on Friday, 4 August, for the first time under lights. After a late morning shower, pristine weather set the stage for the third Goodwill Cup clash.

The proceedings kickstarted with the IAIE CEO Dr Ashutosh Misra welcoming the guests, dignitaries, players, officials and the diverse community members to the event. This was followed by Brother Adrian Coolwell from the Queensland Police Service performing the Acknowledgement to the Country, followed by smoke ceremony, blessings and didgeridoo performance by Uncle Ricky. Then, as the Queensland Police pipe band played a mesmerising tune, young community girl representatives waving multination flags walked on to the field to join the players and officials.

Then followed a heart-warming Australian National Anthem recital by Zaisha Chakraborty and Aneesha Chakraborty from the Sargam Music Academy. Then Dr Misra invited the Queensland Cricket CEO Terry Svenson to present the welcome remarks after whom, Queensland Police Commissioner Katarina Carroll was invited to deliver her welcome speech and also flip the coin for the toss.

The toss was won by IAIE XI Captain Rohit Halder, whodecided to bat first.QPS XI Captain Wayne Clayton led his team on to the field amidst a loud cheer from the crowd. In the stipulated 20 overs, IAIE XI batting first scored 183 for the loss of 6 wickets. Ash Loganathan was the highest scorer with 50 (36), Rishabh Agarwal 46 (44) and Connor Carroll 36 (18). For the QPS XI, Luke Feldman, Jake Coolwell and Justin Kersey shared one wicket each. In response, after a shaky start and losing two quick wickets, Justin Kersey steadied the ship and scored a match winning 72(42) balls in partnership with Raymond Atkinson 48 (30) and Daryll Johnson 33 (21).

In a close fight, QPS XI passed the target with three balls to spare for the loss of 6 wickets.

For the IAIE XI, Heidee Birkett claimed two wickets, while Rohit Halder, Muhammad Bilal, Krishna Pokharel and Connor Carroll claimed one wicket each. For his blistering knock of 72, Justin Kersey was adjudged the Man of the Match by Match Referee John Bell. In sum, on a cold night, the crowd was treated with a nailbiting contest, enthrallingall with several ups and downs during the course of the match.

What was unique about the event this year was gender diversity— inclusion of women cricketers—in the two teams. While the former New Zealand player Nicola Browne played for QPS XI, Queensland’s Heidee Birkett played for the IAIE XI. The two umpires officiating the match were Matt Shaw and Ian Barsby, and the scorers were Doug O’Neill andGreg Bartlett. A note of special acknowledgement goes to the groundsmen —Tony Potter, Liam Sherriff, Conrad Moore, Lachlan Shiner, Sean Brackin and Luke Wilmont for preparing an international standard ground and pitch, protecting it from the overnight and morning showers, and keeping it ready for the match. The live streaming on frogbox was organised by the Queensland Nepalese Cricket Association. During the innings break, Heilani Polynesian School of Arts and the Kalpana Prasad’s Bhangra United presented scintillating performances giving a glimpse of Polynesian and Indian cultures. The guests were in complete awe of their performances. Also, Queensland Police won the hearts of the community with cuddly undertraining Labrador pups from the QPS Dog Unit, majestic horses from the QPS Mounted Unit, and the QPS Recruiting, Crime prevention, First Nations and Multicultural Units. Goodwill Cup 2023 attracted a large number of community champions, dignitaries, government officials andlegends of the game. Some of the noted names included QPS CommissionerMs. Katarina Carroll APM, Queensland Cricket CEO Mr. Terry Svenson,Mr. Andrew Sly, Deputy director General Queensland Government, Ms. Christine Castley, CEO, Multicultural Australia, Mr. Jimmy Sullivan MP (representing the Premier and Police Minister Mark Ryan), Mr Shayne Neumann MP, Mr. Ben Hodgart (Cricket Australia), Michael Sing, Greg Rostron and Varun Gupta (Rostron Carlyle Rojas Lawyers), Mr. Ankit Taneja (Mahindras Automotive), Mr. Ashawani Soni (Holistic Homecare), Mr. Grant Smith and Mr. Paul Sujevich (Virtu group), Dr. Amol Wagholikar (Rise01), Mr. Suman Nepal (Nice Loans), Dr Ram Mohan (India News), Mr. Amit Lohani (QNCA), Mr John Bell, , Mr Syed Ashghar Rizvi (Pakistan Australian Cultural Association), Mr. Jishu Das (Brisbane Bangladeshi Association), Mr Joginder Modi (Hindu Council of Australia), Mr Jaynesh Brahmbhatt and Brijesh Banwadiya (BAPS Swaminarayan), Mr. Anu Parera (Wolston Park Cricket Club), and the IAIE Board members Mr. Muthuraj Guruswamy, Dr. Shaun Star, Ms Sweta Misra, Dr. Jacqueline Drew, and other officials including Ms. Kriti Bharadwaj and Mr. Kartik Pratap Singh, among others.

Ms. Christine Castley presented plaques of appreciation to the leaders of the Multicultural associations along with Mr Jimmy Sullivan. QPS Commissioner and Queensland Cricket CEO, and Queensland’s contracted women players Courteny Sippal and Mikayla Hinkley presented plaques to the corporate sponsors namely, Rostron Carlyle Rojas Lawyers and Queensland Government (platinum sponsors); Mahindras Automotive, Holistic Homecare, Virtu group and Energy Queensland and Rise01(Gold sponsors); Nice Loans (Silver sponsor);and Sankalp, Sustainable Homes and Top in Town (Bronze sponsors).

At the end of the match Queensland Police Commissioner Katarina Carroll and Inspector Wayne Clayton felicitated Dr Misra with a special plaque for his contribution to community engagement and association with QPS. The winner’s and runner’s up medals, the Goodwill Trophy and the Man of the Match Trophy were presented by QPS Commissioner and Shayne Neumann MP. Inspector Clayton delivered the vote of thanks. On behalf of Queensland Cricket Ms Lucy Hicks, Mr. John Butterworth, Mr. Liam Green, Mr Nic Roberts and Ms Rebecca Goodwin deserve a special commendation for their support to the event. Musical entertainment was provided by DJ Ashu from the Gold Coast and Australia India News as the Media partner provided the coverage for the event.