By JARROD POTTER
YABBIES new and old made the swim up the hill on Sunday to honour one of their own.
Pakenham Upper/Toomuc Cricket Club held its first past players’ day Twenty20 – which will be an annual event – and this year the match and the day was held in honour of life-member John “JA” Allcock, who passed away in June last year.
The barbecue was fired up, as was the action on field as the past players team took on the Yabbies select XI in a Twenty20 showdown.
Good-spirited cricket – eventually won by the past players XI by three runs in a thrilling finish going to the last ball – was a fitting back drop for a day of celebration.
The balcony had a special section with the Memorial Twenty20 Match Cup reserved with only one specific request – that you share in a red wine or a stout and most importantly, share a tale about the well loved Allcock – best summed up by his memorial plaque as “a true gentleman“.
Pakenham Upper/Toomuc CC president Vicki Downes said the day was a brilliant way to celebrate Allcock and other influential Yabbies and the legacy they had left behind.
“I think the day is absolutely fantastic – I think it shows what a man JA was,” Downes said.
“I was lucky to have known him and he was a true legend of the club and a good man to know.
“I hope what it shows is that it’s a place to be again – its a family environment again and everyone is welcome back at the club … that people want to come back again and that’s what JA would have wanted.”
The match will be played every year to commemorate other influential Yabbies and their contributions to the WGCA-aligned club, which was reformed in 1977.
With Pakenham Upper/Toomuc’s first WGCA XI in District Division well placed to make finals, and potentially rebound back into Premier Division, and the women’s XI making significant inroads week-after-week, all signs are pointing upwards for the Yabbies heading into the next 40 years.
The Yabbies will hold a 15/15 match between mixed under-13 and under-15 teams after the C Grade fixture on Saturday at Harry Blackman Oval.
