Feel the spirit as cricket festival returns

BACKERS of a seniors’ cricket competition have announced the event’s return later this year.

First launched in 2024, the Spirit of Cricket Festivale is set to stride back out to the crease in mid-to-late-September.

The 16-day tournament will offer Over 50s and Over 55s grades with teams from Australia, New Zealand, the USA and Canada the chance to put leather to willow.

The youngsters will play 45-over games – including day nighters – while the slightly older blokes will battle it out in T20 matches. There’s also $25,000 in prize money on offer.

Spirit of Cricket Festivale founder Anthony Telfer said he was looking forward to the event’s return and growth.

“Each country is sending over its best Over 50 and Over 55 national players and all of these guys regularly play and represent their counties at international level,” he said.

“We started the event last year as a tri-series and due to the popularity of the event among players we’ve had increased interest this year which is why we’ve been able to grow it to include four countries and two age categories.”

The tournament is being backed by the Rural City of Mildura, and spokesperson for Events and Tourism Cr Rebecca Crossling said the more than fortnight-long event would be a boon for the region.

“This is yet another welcome addition to our 2025 events calendar, but this event is special for a couple of reasons,” she said.

“The fact it runs across two weeks means sustained economic benefit for our hard-working local business owners across sectors including hospitality, retail and accommodation.

“It also brings international competitors from three countries to Mildura, many of whom may be introduced to our beautiful region for the first time.

“This could potentially translate into a whole host of future international visitors to our municipality and hundreds of thousands of additional tourism dollars flowing into our region.”

As a former local resident, Mr Telfer backed that idea and said he looked forward to showcasing Sunraysia.

“While the players are in the region we have a packed program of experiences for them to enjoy off-the-field,” he said.

“For example, we’ve built time into their schedule to enjoy tours of popular visitor attractions, we’ve organised golf days, events at the Mildura Boathouse, and a cruise on the Mundoo among a host of activities.”

The 2025 Spirit of Cricket Festivale will see the Over 50s play from September 14 to 24 while the Over 55s will go from September 25 to 30.

The games will take place at various venues across the region.