Do you love club cricket? I do. So much so that I wrote a book about it
Craig Dodson | August 19, 2023
The Book is a celebration of cricket and the fantastic people and clubs that help underpin it.
My mate ‘CAT’ says it is the best (and only) book he has read since year those bloody year 10 English Teachers at Mount Austin High School in Wagga Wagga forced him to read.. High praise indeed.
The Book is the best attempt by an average bloke and amateur writer to simply have a crack at something that was on the bucket List.
At the end of the day I feel the book is a reflection of myself – short on polish and refinement, yet honest, humorous and with the best of intentions.
For those that don’t know the back story of my Book ‘A View of Australia From Fine Leg’, in the cricket season of 2019/2020 I set out on THE ULTIMATE CRICKETING ADVENTURE. My quest to travel around Australia playing cricket and raising funds for mental health.
A lightbulb lit up in my head at 2.00am on Day 2 of the Second Test of the 2019 Ashes Series. I realised how much I missed the game and came up with an idea…
‘Why don’t I strap on my cricket pads again this season and play 11 games across Australia, each for a new cricket club, and then turn it into a book?’
The adventure was born!
I went through a battle with depression a decade ago and, thankfully, came out the other side. I committed myself to using the tour to raise funds for mental health as well as helping people along the way by sharing my story.
In the end I travelled over 10,000 kilometres, pulling on the whites for a diverse mix of fantastic cricket clubs. I found myself trapped by a bushfire, travelling 1600 kilometres one day just for a Golden Duck and I was given a hand by greats of the game like Greg Chappell and Darren Lehmann.
In the end we raised $10,000 for the Gotcha4Life Mental Health Charity.
Above everything, what will stay with me most out of the adventure is the people I met at the participating clubs. Every club had a few people that stood out from the pack. Anyone involved in club cricket will know the type – that person that devotes every inch of themselves to making you feel welcome and doing whatever job is needed to help the club thrive.
For game 5 of my adventure for Northern Suburbs District Cricket Club in Brisbane I arrived at Norths’ home ground complex by taxi where I was greeted by Terry McSweeney, a tireless worker behind the scenes and the proud grandfather of club First Grade captain and current Queensland first-class player Nathan McSweeney. Terry looked me in the eye, shook my hand with a vice like grip and told me, “There is no way you are going home in a bloody taxi tonight, mate. I’ll drive you home.” Welcome to the Northern Suburbs District Cricket Club!
12 hours later – after I’d found plenty of gaps in the air on route to a slashing 25, and enjoyed a few XXXX’s and hospitality at the club function, Terry was true to his word and I jumped into the passenger seat with Terry at the wheel and left Norths behind on our way to the city and my hotel. Terry and I got chatting. Terry is a Vietnam War veteran and spent time in my former home town of Wagga Wagga when he was in training. A handy Rugby League player back in the day, we discussed everything from local Wagga pubs and country footy legends to Terry’s reflections on the war. On the way, we also found out that Brisbane’s CBD has a few more one-way streets than the last time Terry has driven there!
I collapsed on the hotel bed exhausted after a marathon day. My teammates had stashed a couple of XXXX cans for the road, one last act of hospitality! I cracked one open and reflected on a great day at the cricket. I arrived at Norths in a taxi as a complete stranger and left ten hours later feeling every inch a part of this fantastic club.
Every club had a character like Terry. They are the heart and soul of club cricket in Australia.
I have enjoyed an exhausting last 12 months promoting the book and trying to raise more funds for the Gotcha4Life Mental Health Charity (with all profits from the book going to it).
A great supporter of the Book has been Paul Ryan and everyone associated with the Today’s Tale Platforms (Stump to Stump, Cricket Sydney and Cricket Brisbane). As supporters of Today’s Tale I am pleased to offer a 30% discount on the purchase price for those of you who have read this far and would like to grab a copy and support the Gotcha4Life Mental Health Foundation.
If you love club cricket you will love this book.
Books are available for $19 (inclusive of postage anywhere in Australia) and to secure a copy and support a great cause you can email me at craigdodson@hotmail.com
