Australian Government, Department of Defence

Big events grow from small beginnings and that’s the plan for the International Defence Cricket Challenge in Canberra in November.

The organisers expect the inaugural event will expand to become a Defence World Cup which, in military status, will be the equivalent of that in which our Aussie men in yellow famously dominate on the world professional limited-over stage.

The challenge, in Canberra from November 19 to 23 has attracted two teams from Britain and two from New Zealand to do battle with four ADO teams.

Teams taking part will include the Royal Australian Navy, Australian Army, Royal Australian Air Force, the ASCA President’s XI, the Royal New Zealand Air Force, New Zealand Army, the Royal Engineers (United Kingdom) and the Adjutant General’s Corps (United Kingdom).

Games will be played between 10am and 5pm as one-day fixtures under International Cricket Council rules and it is planned to become a biennial carnival.

The tournament will involve 170 players and officials in a series of pool matches – preliminaries, semi-finals and plate finals – at various Canberra grounds before the IDCC grand final at Manuka Oval on November 23. At this stage it is planned to use Canberra Grammar, Kingston Oval, Stirling Oval, Chisholm No. 1 and ANU North Oval with a back-up plan in case of wet weather.

“Cricket is universally acknowledged to be a game of fair play, teamwork, social interaction and fierce rivalry between nations; especially Australia, New Zealand and Great Britain,” tournament organiser LTCOL James Brownlie said.

“By their nature, cricket matches foster a spirit of goodwill, healthy competition and a greater understanding between competitors.

“The Australian Services Cricket Association (ASCA) has conceived and developed this activity to harness these qualities within the Defence environment in partnership with Cricket ACT and the Defence Support Group (DSG) to provide an opportunity for the Defence Forces of Australia, New Zealand and the United Kingdom to further enhance Defence partnerships through cricket.

“The ASCA has done some tours – to New Zealand in 1990, Britain in 1993, South Africa in 1997, Asia in 2000 and then Britain again in 2005. And we have competed in the Arafura Games (in Darwin) in every year that cricket has been played there.”

The ASCA could boast some cricket talent of its own, with Australian Army side including LT Matt Pascoe, a former Shield player for Queensland; and Navy’s WO Gary Fuss a former one-day player for Western Australia.

Teams will begin to arrive in Canberra on November 15 with practice matches on November 16, as well as the tournament brief and a committee and team management dinner.

The grand final day will be on November 23. A World Defence X1 based on performances at the carnival will then be selected.

“And because there has never been an ASCA reunion dinner before, it has been decided to run that in conjunction, with several former Test players, who are also former Servicemen, to be invited,” LTCOL Brownlie said.

He said the IDCC committee was seeking assistance to manage the event, with four team liaison officers required to escort the four international teams throughout their Australian tour.

“Liaison officers will meet the international teams in Sydney and travel and live with them throughout,” he said. “Additionally, four ground managers are required to ensure games are administratively catered for on a daily basis.”

The IDCC will be a fund-raising event for Legacy with a cheque to be presented at the end of the event.

Anyone interested should contact LTCOL Brownlie on (02) 62655061 or email: james.brownlie@defence.gov.au For further service cricket information, visit: ascacricket.net.au/IDCC.htm