Our boys' and girls' Year 6/7 T20 Cricket Teams were invited to compete in a State Wide final at Adelaide Oval on Thursday 20th November. Both teams had won the District Carnival at Encounter Bay so were representing our Southern District. All players had the chance to play on the Adelaide Oval, which was very exciting.
The girls played 3 games, won 1 and were very competitive in their other 2 games, just losing both matches. They finished 11th out of 15 teams.
The boys won all 3 games they played in the minor round and made the Grand Final, which they won in a very close, exciting game. They then had the opportunity to play in the Australia wide final, held at the MCG on Thursday 11th December 2014. An amazing opportunity.
The 9 boys (Matty, Colby, Kane, Che, Mitchell, Harry, Darcy, Liam, Dylan), Jamie Ayris (parent helper and coach), Shelley Nitschke (SACA representative and former Australian Women’s Cricket Vice Captain and International Award winner), and myself had the opportunity to fly to Melbourne, play cricket on the MCG, meet some of the top Australian Women Cricketers and have a quick tour of the Melbourne Sports Museum. Memories that will last with us for a lifetime.
We were picked up at school by a Premier bus at 12 noon on the Wednesday. The passengers on this bus before us were the Indian Cricket Team on their way to Adelaide Oval. The boys remarked that maybe a bus with Premiers written on the front and having International Cricketers on board before us, may have been a very good omen! We then arrived at Adelaide Airport and flew with Qantas to Melbourne Airport.
Once in Melbourne we were guided around the town by Raini Nailer and we got to see Federation Square lit up with lights, Flinders Street Train Station, a Christmas projector display on the Town Hall walls and visit Bourke St Mall to see many Christmas displays. I’d like to thank Raini immensely for this wonderful tour and for her continued support to our school.
The next day we had a buffet breakfast then headed to the MCG. The atmosphere was amazing, and being allowed to walk onto the hallowed turf was such a special experience for us all. We had 5 out of the 9 boys’ families there on the day, and those who could not make the trip across were with us in spirit via texts and phone calls. I’d like to thank very much all parents and families for their support, kind words and encouragement on the day. It was fantastic to have you all there either in person, or in spirit.
We played 3 minor round games and won all 3. During one of these 3 games Colby hit the designated Milo sign which meant he received a cricket bat signed by the Men’s Australian Cricket Team. Congratulations Colby. Also, during these 3 games, Che accidently hit the winner’s trophy which was on display. Again, the boys commented that maybe that meant we get to take the trophy home!
As we waited during the lunch break to find out if we made the Grand Final, Liam had the opportunity to compete against 7 other boys from opposition teams in the Highest Catch Competition. The prize being a cricket bat signed by the Men’s Australian Cricket Team. Liam performed wonderfully and won that competition. Congratulations to Liam.
We made it into the Grand Final, finishing first in the minor round. We played St Paul’s from Brisbane. We fielded first and kept them to a low score. We then went out to bat with a rather low score to achieve, but unfortunately we lost a lot of wickets (every wicket gives the opposition 5 runs). After the last bowl was bowled for the game no one could be sure who had won, as it was a very close game. We had to endure 30 minutes of presentations etc before it was finally announced that we had won by 6 runs!! We were National Champions of the inaugural Milo T20 Cricket Cup.
Congratulations boys on this wonderful achievement. Thanks to Jamie for coaching the boys and to Fraser, Julie, Jaid, Chris, John, Joel, Matt, Greg and Austin for their support on the day.
I would like to thank Shelley Nitschke, SACA and Cricket Australia for giving the boys such an amazing opportunity. Thank you also to my colleagues, students, their parents, supporters and community members for all the support and encouragement.
The support, well wishes and shared celebrations winning the National T20 Cricket Cup has created has been very overwhelming. Thank you to everyone. What a wonderful experience to have shared with so many wonderful people.
