GRAHAMSTOWN cricketer Marcus Williams this week returned from a superb performance for the Spot on Strikers at the Spirit of Cricket T20 Global Championship tournament in Mildura.
Playing against world class players, Marcus, aged 50, came in at 14th in the batting aggregate with seven matches 154 runs off 145 balls and an average of 22.
“Each game was played at a series of ovals across Mildura,” he said.
“The fixture came out early, however due to rain, times and locations were changed. We played at Mildura Senior College on both turf and hard wickets, also played at Chaffey Park, where I scored 52 and earned player of the match, and Sarah Oval, where I scored 29 and was player of the match for a second time.
“The level of competition in the tournament was first class,” he said.
“We were competing with and against the Australian, Australian A, and New Zealand Over 50s National teams, and the competition also had former international, and many state, and shield level players. Spot On Strikers were often referred to as a bunch of misfits, because we were selected from all over Australia and New Zealand and only met each other either the day before or on the day we started playing. We finished the tournament in sixth position from eight teams, with three wins separated from fourth and fifth by percentage. A very respectable result considering the two teams in the final had been practicing together for three months in preparation.”
Marcus has been playing cricket for as long as he has have been able to hold a bat, but I played his first senior game when he was 13 for Trowutta Cricket Club in North West Tasmania (He was born in Burnie, and grew up in on a dairy farm just outside of Smithton), and also played district cricket for the Wynyard Cricket Club in Tasmania.
He moved to Adelaide from Tasmania in 1999 and started playing for the Reynella Cricket Club. He was the Limited Over Cricketer of the Year for Adelaide in the 2017/2018 season, and made 656 runs as an opening batsman, and took 20 wickets for the year.
He is predominantly an opening batsman, and a right-arm off-spin bowler.
“What brought me to this area was a visit to an old work colleague of 15 years ago,” he said. “We fell in love, and I haven’t left.”
He had been following Anthony “Telf” Telfer’s Spirit Of Cricket (SOC) concept for 18 months and when the nominations opened he put his name forward for the draft for the T20 comp. There was a live draft performed via the SOC YouTube channel, and I was picked in round 9, backed by Vice Captain of the Strikers, Simon Tape, South Australia Champion.
“Our franchise owner was Jeff “Chilla” Charlesworth (owner and managing director of Spot On Hose & Fittings Pty Ltd), who not only gave us a great deal of support, but also was the major sponsor and Director of Umpires for the tournament. Chilla also secured our mentor for the week, cricketing legend Doug Walters. Jeff worked diligently behind the scenes for sponsorship so our cost of participation was reimbursed. I cannot speak highly enough of Jeff.”
The Spirit of Cricket T20 Global Championship is a new concept pulled together by Anthony Telfer with the backing of the Mildura City Council and Victorian State Government. This event was the pilot whereby Telf secured eight franchise owners to sponsor the competition (amongst the other major sponsors) who all played an active role in choosing their Captains and Vice Captains who were then tasked with team selection from a pool of over 200 nominations. The project will eventually include over 1000 players in the global competition, with the aim to promote over 50s cricket. This competition has at its core, the genuine goal of creating a solid community of cricketers, with a focus on supporting each other for the improvement of men’s mental health.
