Sport Lived cricketers impress in Melbourne

Congratulations to Richard Moore for winning the Third Grade District One-Day Cricket Premiership! In a thrilling Grand Final, Richard’s club beat Geelong by just four runs!

Rick Moore (top row, 3rd from the left)

Congratulations also to Harry Moores for winning the 2nd XI Premiership beating Bentleigh by 75 runs.

Congratulations to Thomas Crosse who played for his club in a 2nd XI Grand Final. Unfortunately his team were beaten at the last hurdle but Tom performed extremely well taking 1/26 off 10 overs in the first innings and 2/21 off 8.1 overs in the second innings.

A very special mention must also go to Charlie Cooke who scored not only one, but two centuries in consecutive weeks! His latest effort was a

Charlie (right) with Tom Parfett

sparkling 116 not out. This is an outstanding achievement to score two centuries at District Cricket! Charlie, a wicket-keeper batman from Sherborne, has consistently scored runs throughout the season.  Prior to his 2 centuries Charlie notched up a classy 98 in early January. Congratulations on this excellent achievement! Well Done Charlie!!

Richard Moore – Playing Cricket in Melbourne

Richard Moore, member of the Cheshire County League, Lancashire Under 19’s and Cheshire 2nds, is a young and dedicated cricketer, who chose to travel with Sport Lived on his gap year, and experience cricket the Australian way. Richard left the UK with a desire to focus on his cricket, and improve all levels of his game, “I wanted to take it to the next level.” He left with the intentions of concentrating on and improving his fielding and fitness, and an underlying curiosity to learn the differences between playing cricket in the UK and playing cricket in Australia.

Upon Richard’s arrival in Australia, he was fortunate enough to be chosen to play for a club handpicked by Sport Lived, and one of Victoria’s most elite cricket clubs. Richard, who is a member of the 6 month ‘Playing Sport’ programme, describes playing cricket in Melbourne as, “absolutely brilliant, it is just such a good experience.”  In terms of technique and training methods, Richard describes his club as being of a very high standard, “each session is so intense, it is amazing because you see yourself improving after every training session.” Richard and his team-mates train on outstanding facilities, having access to five nets and a full-sized astro pitch. Training twice a week allows him to acknowledge his improvements and growth as a sportsman. He feels he has succeeded in achieving his goal since coming to Melbourne, “when training at the intensity that we do, it is really good for your game and you definitely see the benefits.”

When Richard is not playing cricket or watching cricket, he is experiencing the Melbourne culture and nightlife with both locals and fellow Sport Lived travellers. Being placed with such a tight-knit sporting club has given Richard the chance to embrace his new community, and learn from his team-mates about more than just cricket, “they are a great group of lads! We have social events throughout the season which are a lot of fun.” Richard speaks just as highly of the social benefits of playing sport in Melbourne, as he does the physical. The highlight of his trip so far involves a fancy dress pub-crawl with his team-mates, whereby the club is divided into groups and given challenges throughout pubs around Melbourne.

Outside of the cricket club, Richard and the other Sport Lived participants are provided with incredible support from their local Melbourne mentors. Richard’s mentor took him and the other Sport Lived participants away from the fast-paced city life in Melbourne, and gave them a taste of the Victorian countryside. During this bush fishing trip, the group were introduced to the laid-back Australian country life, native flora and fauna, and given a chance to bond and relax after an intense period of training and matches. Richard described the weekend trip as an amazing experience; “it was an experience I will never forget.”

Richard’s advice for people thinking about attending the Sport Lived programme on their gap year was simple, “Do it. And make the most of everything you do. Because you will always look back and always remember this time.”