
By Glen Atwell
THE premier teams of Victorian cricket will clash in a star-studded Twenty-20 match at Arch Brown Reserve in Berwick on Tuesday, 13 December.
The newly formed Casey-South Melbourne side will take on the Dandenong Panthers to introduce the top grade of Victorian competition to Casey before the Casey-South Melbourne side takes up permanent residency at the Casey Fields complex next year.
The action starts at 5pm and will be headlined by a handful of former international cricketing stars.
Former Test captain Graham Yallop will participate in the match with former state and national teammate Mick Taylor.
Former Australian fast bowler Damien Fleming, who plays for Noble Park in the Victorian Sub-District Cricket Association, will also play.
Captain of Casey-South Melbourne Dave Newman will meet Dandenong Premier League opponents Warren Ayres, Kumar Sana and Bushranger Peter Siddle.
Berwick’s own former state player Will Carr will also be involved.
Organiser of the event and Casey-South Melbourne committee member Don Moyes said the entire Casey community was invited to watch the best collection of cricketing names assembled in Berwick compete.
“Admission is free and it’s not a late night, the talent will be terrific,” Moyes said.
The event has been sponsored by Cricket Victoria, which wants to make sure Casey residents are aware of the high level of cricket that will be played on their doorsteps every week from next year.
Moyes, 73, began playing cricket in 1947 and only recently retired.
After the Casey-South Melbourne side was allocated a rear ground at the Casey Fields, Moyes, who was not associated with the club at the time, protested to the council before being approached by South Melbourne to become a committee member.
“I’d like to give back something to the game after playing for so long.
“I played at Berwick for a number of years and have also played in a number of European countries,” Moyes said.
Moyes said the transition from South Melbourne to Casey would take time, but with 65 families moving into Casey every week, the nucleus for a future Test captain was already hidden somewhere in Casey.