Tara Murray
There were plenty of sixes and excitement as the Gisborne and District Cricket Association joined forces to support one of its own.
On Wednesday night, players from the 10 McIntyre Cup sides took to the field in the Best of the GDCA Flood Relief Appeal match.
All money raised from the night will be donated to Malmsbury Cricket Club, which was heavily impacted by floods last year.
Malmsbury secretary Matt Cox said from everything they saw and heard that it was a successful night.
“There was quite a fair turnout with more than 300 people through the gate,” he said. “To have the 10 teams in full flight, it was a fantastic game with lots of sixes and quite a few wickets and catches.
“The GDCA wanted to do something for the community and there was a lot of feedback that it was a fantastic night and they were able to help a cause like ours.”
He said all the club’s got on board and it’s something that could grow into the future, looking at different causes to support.
Malmsbury lost about $30,000 worth of property in the floods. Cox said while they haven’t got the final figure, he reckons they may have raised between $18,000 and $20,000 on Wednesday night.
He said there were still donations coming in and people could still donate.
“We were happy with $5000 as that was better than nothing,” he said.
“Macedon Ranges Glass jumped on board early on to help out. On top of that Kookaburra has donated two kit bags and some balls, while the GDCA has donated a girls kit.”
While Malmsbury and the sporting community were the big winners on the night, there were still bragging rights on the line.
Each team had the opportunity to bat, with the team with the highest score off two overs winning.
It was Diggers Rest Bulla pair Mulkapuge Lakshan and Indika Massalage that got the bragging rights with 49 runs, while another four or five teams scored at least 40 runs.
