Spirit of Cricket - Founded by Anthony Telfer
Very early on in life cricket became a passion. Nothing else was important, except winning. Born & breed in the Mallee – Mildura, Victoria, Australia, every minute of my life has been devoted to cricket, from the oiling of my first bat, a Gray Nichols scoop, to the mowing & rolling of the “turf pitch” in the front yard – all so the neighbours could come and play every day after school until the sunset.
Introduced to Willowfest in 1978, a cricket competition where the cricket in Mildura was played in the right spirit between Xmas & New Year culminating with a New Year’s Eve rock concert celebration. During the weeklong competition, cricket was always first – played hard, furious & fair, but always ended up with the social element at the fore. The motto of the championships was “The chain of friendship”. My junior cricket was played in Red cliffs & the Mildura West Cricket Club until leaving for university in 1984.
Anthony Telfer
In 1998 I returned to Mildura after stints at the Bendigo Cricket Club, Collingwood Cricket Club, Essendon Cricket Club , Clifton Hill Cricket Club & UTS North Sydney District Cricket Clubs.
Now back home in Mildura, I played with Mildura Settlers Cricket Club taking on coaching roles, joined the committee and supported the curators with pitch preparation on a weekly basis.
I took on the Presidents role of the Willowfest from 1998 – 2020. This was where the true reality of what cricket was about was established. Cricket was more than a contest, it was about friendship, fitness, mates & mental wellbeing. It was seeing the players from both sides sharing a drink with the umpires & officials discussing the game, making new friends and always with smiles on their faces.
In the early years as President, I found some bails in a box. These bails belonged to Charlie Haeusler, one of the originals who established Willowfest back in 1977. There was only one thing I could do with these bails – yes, I burned them and created the Willowfest Ashes – they still exist in an Ashes replica red gum hand carved urn. The wood was sourced from the Mallee.
In 2018 I was introduced to veterans’ cricket in Adelaide and travelled to play every second Sunday with the Hills Fleurieu Veterans Cricket Club – a round trip of approximately 800kms. At the end of the days play there was the awarding of the “Spirit of Cricket” award – a bottle of red to the opposition player who played the game with the “Spirit of Cricket” – a most sought-after award by all players.
Now living in Adelaide I am also playing with The Kensington District Cricket Club, a club steeped in history and the club where Sir Don Bradman played. Playing in the LOA’s in the Adelaide Turf Cricket Association - ATCA the cricket is played to the “Spirit of Cricket”.
With an obsession with cricket since early on in life I knew the spirit was alive and well, but I wanted to ensure there was an element of the “Spirit of Cricket” in every game across every cricket club around the world.
How could someone as insignificant as me achieve this?
The logo was designed, the Facebook page & this group developed, the “Spirit of Cricket” preamble was adopted, along with the construction of the website www.spiritofcricket.com.au
We have also just released our “Spirit of Cricket” original gin. Every bottle of gin has a printed label to remind us of what the “Spirit of Cricket” is. This message will be distributed to every corner of the world where cricket is played.
As a long-time cricket administrator, I need everyone to become champions of the “Spirit of Cricket” Award. We need to ensure every game ends with a presentation to the opposition team and present the “Spirit of Cricket” award to the player who plays with respect which is paramount to the “Spirit of Cricket.”
I hope others adopt this award all-round the globe in every cricket-playing country. Let’s hope every weekend, at the end of every game, the “Spirit of Cricket” award is adopted, presented, and discussed by every cricket club & cricketer around the world. Please like share with your friends and post your positive “Spirit of Cricket” stories, experiences, photos or videos here.
Anthony Telfer
Innovator, Entrepreneur & Cricket Administrator
2022
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