Sponsored by
Leeds cricket club’s Australia trip
HEADING DOWN UNDER: The under-14 team which will be travelling to Morley in Australia.
A Leeds cricket club is making a tour of Australia to play against its namesake team – despite the 9,000 mile distance.
Morley Cricket Club, from Leeds, is to make the mammoth journey to play a series of matches against Morley Cricket Club, and other teams in Perth, Australia.
The club, based at Scatcherd Lane, has raised funds for the last two years to make their dream trip to compete against their twin club possible.
Flights alone are costing £28,000.
Committee member Joanne Jenkinson, of Morley, who is married to coach Andrew, said: “It has taken lots of work. There are 36 of us going, including 14 junior members, and we will play a series of matches against the club we are twinned with.
“We will be flying to the other side of the world to play a series of cricket matches in Perth, Western Australia. We have held raffles, packed bags in Morrisons and Sainsbury’s, made sandwiches, in fact any opportunity to fundraise, but parents have had to pay towards the flights.
“It really is a dream trip for us all.”
Joanne, whose son Ben is captain of the under-14s club, explained: “The clubs partnership was started when we received a message from Paul Guthrie, the president of Morley CC in Perth, out of the blue.
“We then built ties between the clubs and in the summer of 2009 the plan for the tour was hatched when Josh Walker came to England to play cricket for our club in the Bradford League from Morley CC in Perth.”
She said plans to make the trip were formed and the date of October 2011 chosen, giving everyone two years to organise things.
She said over the last two years they had raised funds to pay for kit, a team bus and hire cars: “We have had so much support from our club and many of the local businesses who have donated raffle prices or cash donations for equipment.”
Morley Town Council has supported the venture and Mayor of Morley Councillor Judith Elliot will attend a civic send off when the group departs on October 14.
Email to a friend
Print this page
Looking for...
Featured advertisers
Jobs
Search for a job
Motors
Search for a car
Property
Search for a house
Weather for Leeds
Saturday 26 May 2012
Today
Sunny
Temperature: 8 C to 21 C
Wind Speed: 17 mph
Wind direction: East
Tomorrow
Sunny
Temperature: 9 C to 22 C
Wind Speed: 13 mph
Wind direction: East
Your view
Please sign in to be able to comment on this story.