An all ages, all abilities, multicultural cricket tournament will be played in Traralgon this month to build cohesion in the local community.
Organised by the Gippsland Australian Muslim Community Incorporated, the tournament will see teams from India, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka squaring off for the Gippsland Asian Cup.
This is the second year that the community has organised the cricket tournament following a successful event last year where Victoria Police defeated the multicultural team made up mainly of players from Pakistan.
Faaz Syed, who has helped organised the two events, said the teams would be a mixture of all ages and abilities with the youngest player being nine years old and the oldest at 55.
“We used to play each other in friendly games so it’s a great day for the families to come together and have a bit of competition,” Syed told The Express.
He said cricket was a major sport in the Indian, Pakistan and Sri Lankan communities and it meant a lot to them to promote the game in the local community.
The 26-year-old Traralgon resident, who graduated from Monash University in 2015, is currently coaching a cricket club in Melbourne.
Syed said they also organised a cricket clinic in between the games for children and women to get involved in.
“We hope to get the families involved and bring the sport of cricket to Gippsland,” he said.
The free event is scheduled for February 11 and 18 at the Rovers Cricket Club in Traralgon.
