Queensland Cricketers' Club

Last Friday, we hosted our annual Blue Tie Long Lunch at the incredible Queensland Cricketers' Club at the Gabba! 💙 It was a great afternoon of laughs, food and drinks, and most importantly conversations that are changing the mental health narrative for young Australians. 💥 We're THRILLED to announce we raised an INCREDIBLE $30,194 that will go directly into helping more young Australians take charge of their mental health through our preventative programs and education 🐘 Thanks to the support of our local community, our impact in Queensland to date is significant: - 443 programs delivered (3,500+ nationally) - Reaching 55,931 young people in QLD (That’s enough to fill the Gabba plus some!) and over 400,000 nationally. A massive shoutout to our incredible special guests who made the day even more powerful, Aunty Deborah Sandy who shared a beautiful welcome to country, batyr storyteller and Mrs Galaxy Australia 2024 Eleni S., the incredible musical talent Alex Crooke, AFL legend and talented MC Richard Champion and the inspiring Emily Seebohm for sharing her story and journey to the Olympics! Additionally, a massive thank you to our chair, Ellen Derrick, Emma Davis and the UnLtd. team, Endeavour Group NRG and all the incredible supporters who continue to partner with us to reach schools across the state.

Kinda dusty in here! Sport at its most magnificent as giant killer Shamar Joseph bowled the West Indies to a stirring victory, their first against Australia since 1997. The Guyanese wunderkind's ambition last year was to play first class cricket & now he is the toast of the cricket world. Joseph is the most unlikely test hero having come from the small Amazon jungle community of Baracara which is only accessible by small boat, two days downstream from the closest city of New Amsterdam and whose 350 residents only received the internet in 2018. He grew up worshipping the golden generation of West Indies cricket, especially Courtney Walsh and Curtly Ambrose, imitating their styles bowling with lemons, limes, guavas and peaches before moving onto a taped tennis ball. He left school to work in logging with his father and brothers, chopping logs and floating them down the river, but after almost being taken out by a tree, he moved to New Amsterdam to work as a labourer and later as a security guard. Joseph's fiance urged him to follow his cricket dream and he was brought in as a net bowler for the Guyana Amazon Warriors for the 2023 Caribbean Premier League. So impressive was his net bowling that he was selected for Guyana and made his international debut as one of 7 uncapped players in an underestimated West Indies touring squad that former Australian fast bowler Rodney Hogg labelled "pathetic and hopeless." With the first ball of his test match career in Adelaide he secured the wicket of Steve Smith and he went on to take 5/94, the best test debut for any West Indian bowler in Australia. In the second Test Joseph was retired hurt, carried off and taken to hospital to get scans on a broken toe courtesy of a Mitchell Starc thunderbolt yorker and did not even start the 4th day on the field. His toe had given him a painful night and he had to be coaxed to the ground by the team doctor: "He told me to come to the ground and believed I could do it." "It was all about believing, I made a lot of sacrifice to get here." When he joined his teammates he was thrown the ball, and like a superhero he took the game into his own hands bowling 11 straight overs, with an injured toe in high humidity. Reaching speeds close to 150kph he finished with the figures of 7/68 and delivered an 8 run victory for the West Indies long suffering faithful. After his courageous effort Joseph said: "I told my captain that I will bowl till the last wicket falls no matter what happens to my toe." A simply extraordinary performance that earned him Player of the Series, ignited one of the greatest test victories of all time and provided a timely reminder that test cricket is a sport above them all. A tip of the maroon cap to Shamar Joseph for an incredible journey and helping the cricket world 'Rally round the West Indies!!' #Respect #TheMenInMaroon #Guyana Credit: Channel 7

It takes a village to raise a child, but what if the village is no longer working? Join us at our inaugural Bindi Bindi Place fundraising lunch at Queensland Cricketer's Club on Thursday 22nd February. Bindi Bindi Place will provide a much-needed alternative to out-of-home care for at-risk children under 6 and their families. We’ve bought the land, but we now need financial donations, building and landscaping services, and supplies to make this a reality. 100% of donations will go to the centre. Hear from our guest speaker, comedian and author Corey White, and our expert panel on how your donations will make a real difference for Brisbane’s most vulnerable kids. Scan the QR code or click here to book your tickets: https://buff.ly/3vElgDR Learn more about Bindi Bindi Place here: https://buff.ly/3RqJV5p