BOUNDARIES, banter and numerous barbs should be in generous supply as some of the best players in the Sunraysia Cricket Association go head-to-head on Friday night.
The annual President’s XI versus World XI Twenty20 contest brings an early Christmas present for local cricket supporters at Mildura Sporting Precinct.
The match doubles a fundraiser for the SCA junior representative sides to help offset the cost for parents as they play in tournaments in the coming months.
Brad Thomas and Chris Williams will captain their respective sides for the hit out as all players will look to put on a show for the crowd in attendance.
Williams believes players who are normally club teammates will likely be the first to get stuck into each other during the game.
“Obviously we know it’s a bit of a fun exhibition game but there is a bit of a rivalry there and plenty of banter, especially between guys who play for the same club,” he said.
“We’ll be telling our guys to just enjoy it, playing a game under lights with hopefully a bit of a crowd there, just go out and have some fun with it.”
Williams has a number of current imports at his disposal, alongside players who have made Sunraysia home.
“The Sunraysia competition has always been a bit of a feeder league for overseas players, often it’s players who are coming to Australia for the first or second time, and generally they find the standard here to be pretty good,” he said.
“It’s good to see most clubs have embraced bringing players from overseas over the years, and it’s really important for these guys coming across that it can’t be a one-way street, they should embrace the clubs, give back to them and help where they can.”
The President’s XI versus World XI begins at 6.30pm on Friday at Mildura Sporting Precinct.
President’s XI: Jason Morrison (Mildura Settlers), Shaun Mathews (Nichols Point), Wade Hancock (Gol Gol), Bevan Wade (Coomealla Wentworth), Mark Thomson (Irymple), Riley Jobson (Nichols Point), Brad Thomas (c) (Mildura East), Nick Blacker (wk) (Nichols Point), Tony Trinick (Merbein), Luke Coates (Nichols Point), Locke Thornton (Mildura West).
World XI: Chris Williams (c) (Mildura West), Shac Thomas (Gol Gol), Kian Burns (Mildura West), Josh Bowyer (Mildura East), Josh Andrews (wk) (Mildura East), Hamim Miah (Merbein), Greg Lewis (Mildura West), Ben Green (Merbein), Greg Solkin (Mildura West), Tauseef Kataria (Coomealla Wentworth), Akhil Donthireddy (Mildura West), Than Rajapakse (Gol Gol), Richie Wyld (Mildura Settlers).
