COMMUNITY spirit will be the main winner at Merbein’s Kenny Park on Friday night.
The Merbein Football Netball Club and Merbein Cricket Club will come together for their inaugural Christmas Twenty20 cricket match, aimed at bringing some festive cheer to the town.
For those in the giving mood, attendees can pledge $10 for every six hit during the match, with funds going towards the Mildura Health Foundation, supporting people through cancer treatment.
Merbein Cricket Club president Carlo Longeri said the event was about more than just the two clubs coming together.
“It’s all about bringing the community together as well,” he said.
“With such a tight knit community at the moment we’re just looking at somewhere for volunteers and the local community to come down and have some fun, grab a sausage, watch some cricket and get a visit from the ‘big fella’ as well.
“This will be inaugural one but hopefully we can build on it and build it as something not just for our clubs, but for everyone in the community that they can put in their calendar each year.
“You’re always always looking at the other successful clubs in town, and you see what Irymple for example has done with their Christmas party T20 game and it’s something we feel can work for us too.”
Merbein Football Netball Club president Nathan Hudson said it was all about a bit of fun.
“That’s what sport is about,” he said.
“With no Merbein carols this year it’s just a way to get the community together before Christmas.
“It’s not just for Merbein either it’s open for all of Sunraysia to come and have some fun.”
Any extra funds raised from the event will also go into a fund for further redevelopments of the Kenny Park Precinct.
“Nathan and I from the two clubs have got together and look at what we can give back to the community as a whole,” Longeri said.
“The new rooms and scoreboards have been done, now we’ll hopefully work on lights, a couple of new netball courts and continue other upgrades in near future and doing some community projects together.
“It’s beautiful place, great place to watch football, netball and cricket. Hopefully the community jump on board and in the future it can be a centerpiece of the district.”
First ball of the T20 match is at 5pm, with Santa set to make an appearance about 7.30pm.
Follow both clubs on Facebook for more information.
