A MATCH against one of the oldest cricket clubs in the world and a talent-stacked sportsman's evening will ring in Port Fairy's 170th birthday celebrations.
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Port Fairy - the third oldest club in Victoria - will welcome the famous Melbourne Cricket Club for a one-off match on February 16.
It will also mark 155 years since the Jolimont-based club first travelled to the south-west via steamboat to face a Port Fairy XI at Avery's Paddock.
Port Fairy Cricket Club stalwart Paul 'Wally' Sheehan said the history of the clubs' relationship was "quite amazing".
"Melbourne initially came down on the Friday, but they were too seasick to play on the Saturday so it was postponed to the Sunday," he said.
"Melbourne won the game and in those days, the racecourse went right around the cricket ground.
(Melbourne) stayed for the races and had such a good time that they stayed until the following week.
- Paul 'Wally' Sheehan
"They stayed for the races and had such a good time that they stayed until the following week."
Sheehan said Melbourne had returned several times to mark significant milestones in Port Fairy's history.
He said the 2020 edition would feature an over-30 Melbourne squad and a Port Fairy XI featuring six Melbourne district cricketers, including south-west raised spinner Joe Medew-Ewen, former AFL footballer Jordan Lewis and ex-Australian cricketer Adam Dale.
Sheehan said Lewis and Dale would join ex-Australian fast bowler Rodney Hogg at the sportsman's evening, which is set for the Saturday night before the Melbourne Cricket Club match.
"It's a good line-up," he said.
The sportsman's evening is set for St Patrick's School Hall. Tickets - valued at $75 each - are available from the Royal Oak Bottleshop and Driftwood Coffee and Eatery.
The evening will kick off at 6.30pm.
Veterans firing up
TWO Grassmere Cricket Association teams are vying for bragging rights at the annual over-40 Twenty20 carnival at Purnim Recreation Reserve on Sunday.
The first team - Grassmere Maroon - includes James Cole, Jason Hutchins, Damien McMahon, Stephen Edwards, Geoff Pulham, Christian Jones, Nick Kermond, Nick Sinclair, Bruce Alexander, Russell Moody, Jason Gruar, Wayne McLean, Mick Mahoney, Rowan Toki and Simon Poynton.
The second outfit - Grassmere Gold - will feature Jeshua Ross, Mark Richards, Jason Fitzgibbon, Anthony Eccles, Jamie Testro, Greg Billington, Symon Wilde, Kristian Elliott, Cam Peverrett, Rob Neal, Sab Nair, Jason Elliott, Murray Habel and Jamie Hetherington.
President Rhys Dews said the association had several over-40 players who enjoyed the carnival, which also features teams from Warrnambool and Hamilton.
"One of the things we've tried to promote is how social the competition is, particularly our Sunday competition," he said.
"The guys enjoy being able to play with blokes they're usually playing against."
Clear skies ahead?
RAIN has ravaged the south-west this summer. South West Cricket Association has had six rain-affected rounds, five more than last season. The Warrnambool and District Cricket Association, conversely, has had five rain-affected weeks.
The Grassmere Cricket Association, meanwhile, has missed just two weeks of cricket.
More than 18 millimetres of rain doused the Warrnambool district on Saturday, forcing all three competitions to abandon play.
But with the Bureau of Meteorology tipping a rain-less Saturday, cricket fans should be able to get ready for a round of action.
- Have some news you'd like featured in Behind The Stumps? Email nicholas.ansell@warrnamboolstandard.com.au or sean.hardeman@warrnamboolstandard.com.au
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Nick Ansell
Nick Ansell is a sports journalist at the Warrnambool Standard.
Nick Ansell is a sports journalist at the Warrnambool Standard.
