23 September 2019

ACT Cricket season launches

| Barcham
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He is playing cricket.

Today Andrew Barr officially launched the ACT cricket season. I assume today was chosen for the launch because the weather finally got hot enough to make standing around in the sun all day uncomfortable, and cricket is all about misery.

This will be another big summer of local cricket, with the highlight being the Prime Minister’s XI match against England on 14 January 2014 at Manuka Oval.

Manuka Oval is currently undergoing a significant transformation with the replacement of the playing surface as well as the installation of an extra 1400 seats. Improving amenities for spectators, players and the media is an important step in bringing more top-flight matches to Canberra.

Already confirmed is the 2015 Cricket World Cup, during which Manuka Oval will host three matches:

— Bangladesh v Afghanistan;

— West Indies v Zimbabwe; and

— South Africa v Ireland.

The first series of home matches for the ACT Meteors is from November 8 to 10, when they take on Tasmania.

The ACT Comets play home matches against Victoria and Western Australia in February.

Last season was exciting for cricket in the ACT. Manuka Oval hosted the first ever one-day international played in Canberra, when Australia took on the West Indies in February, and in January the PM’s XI took on the West Indies in the first match under the new floodlights.

[Photo by gareth1953 Computer Malfunction Solved (CC BY 2.0)

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I kid…

Cricket was one of my favourite sports to play in PE, chiefly because in cricket only two people at any point are every actually engaged in playing a sport, and I was never one of those two people.

Cricket was where I got to “be a fielder” and sit in some grass with a book really far away from the two kids playing sport and the dozen or so other kids standing around waiting for their turn to do something. On the odd chance a ball would come near me, it would shortly be followed by a dozen frenzied guys desperate for a chance to interact with the game in some meaningful way. One would get there first, get into a wrestling match with the next two or three people to reach the ball, and then the winner of that fight would have to wait for everyone to run back over to the main area of the game so they would have someone to throw the ball to. It seemed to keep them happy and I was fine with my book so everyone was a winner I guess.

Cricket was awesome.

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