This week Australia wrapped up the Ashes series against England five-nil on Jane McGrath Day at the Sydney Cricket Ground.
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What a fantastic moment for the Australian cricket team!
It was very fitting that such an auspicious moment happened on the day when the SCG was resplendent in pink to honour Jane McGrath and the McGrath Foundation.
A substantial amount of money was raised on this day for the McGrath Foundation.
Its aims are to provide breast care nurses throughout communities in Australia and to promote breast awareness in young women.
Pink Stumps Day is another initiative of the McGrath Foundation and this is now the fourth year that it has been run.
I’ve been very fortunate in being involved in this fantastic cause from the very first year and it has been a wonderful experience.
This year, the Shoalhaven District Cricket Association has become involved and will host a Pink Stumps Twenty20 match at Nowra Showground on Sunday, March 16.
The teams contesting the match boast an absolutely star-studded line up with local talent and some special guest players.
We’ve been delighted by the acceptance of Nazir Shinwari from Blacktown and Michael Arblaster from Oak Flats to play in this match.
We also have some special guests lined up who are yet to confirm and on this we will keep you posted.
There is a fund-raising page which you can easily find by googling Cathy Russell Pink Stumps if you wish to donate any amount to this cause.
On this page, you can also post supportive messages for players or loved ones who may have experienced breast cancer.
Our day will also feature the ‘come and try’ sessions for girls to encourage interest in the sport of cricket and there will be lots of entertainment for the family.
The organising committee is very much looking forward to it and we hope the Shoalhaven community are too.
The team at the McGrath Foundation are dedicated, professional and absolutely amazing and are a wonderful support to any individual or committee who hosts Pink Stumps Day.
You can also check us out on Facebook at www.facebook.com/sdcapinkstumpsday.
On this page, you will be able to check out both teams and if you ‘like’ the page, keep in touch with what’s happening on our day.
You will also be able to read the highly amusing banter that is developing between the rival teams and it appears that club loyalties will completely disappear once those Pink Stumps shirts are pulled on.
The makeup of the team has been loosely based upon which side of the Shoalhaven River the player originated from, so the Northern All-Stars and the Southern Scorchers will do battle in an Origin style match and we all know how passionate they can be.
Cricket will resume this weekend after what has seemed a very short break but I know that the players are very keen to get back into their routine.
This weekend will also see the finals of the one-day competition played on the Sunday at various locations.
Another event this weekend is the unveiling of Rugby Park as a cricket venue.
The preparation of this ground has been a project for the association to address the problem of a lack of turf wickets in the Northern Shoalhaven area.
Our curator, Phill Newlyn, has worked extremely hard to bring this wicket up and I look forward to seeing the first ball bowled there this weekend.
Phill has been greatly supported by Nowra Cricket Club and Bomaderry Cricket Club, as well as Shoalhaven City Council and it is very exciting to see the redevelopment of this ground as a cricket venue.
Again, I can’t thank enough all of our curators who spend many hours each work working on their pitches to provide great facilities for our competition.
More great news is the early completion of Hanging Rock Oval at Batemans Bay and this ground will now be available from this weekend onwards.
I know that Batemans Bay Cricket Club is most appreciative of the work that their council has put in to this venue and they are very happy to be back at home.