By DAVID NAGEL
HISTORICALLY it’s been known as the ‘gentlemen’s game’ – but cricket is now spreading its wings with Cricket Australia (CA) and the West Gippsland Cricket Association (WGCA) looking to adopt the wider community into the Australian cricket family.
A resurgent national team and the popularity of T20 Cricket have been the driving force behind CA and the WGCA’s cranked-up build-up to the 2014/15 season.
Men, women, along with children as young as five are being encouraged to get involved during CA’s ‘National Sign Up Week’, taking place in every state and territory of Australia from August 9 to 16.
All are invited to visit the Play Cricket website www.playcricket.com.au and find their closest club and register and this summer CA is providing the following options:
Milo In2Cricket: For boys and girls aged five to eight years – a perfect introduction to the game.
Milo T20Blast: Giving boys and girls aged seven to 12 years of age the chance to play short, exciting games of cricket.
Junior Cricket: Traditional cricket – developing skill, teamwork, fair play and community involvement. Junior Cricket has been central to local communities in Australia for over 150 years.
Women: Giving ladies the chance to join more than 180,000 women who play the game nationwide.
Men: Senior club cricket including one and two-day, and the T20 formats of the game.
Indoor Cricket: An action-packed game for teams of six to eight players of all ages and genders.
General Manager of the WGCA, Rob Hansen, said the changing face of cricket was an exciting time for the game and the WGCA was ready to accommodate all-comers.
“The WGCA has worked hard during the off-season to ensure all clubs are ready to handle the expected influx of young people, hungry to experience the excitement of all forms of the game,” he said.
“Clubs in West Gippsland are hoping their cricket will be supported by vast numbers of volunteers and that businesses everywhere will climb on board to support the clubs too.”
Hansen stressed that clubs need to use the Play Cricket website www.playcricket.com.au which will direct interested participants to their local club to register.
“Then they will be able to create their own cricket moment.”
