The inaugural Tasmanian Cricket Week is a great chance to support one of the most celebrated and contested sports in our nation.
Tasmanians are being called on to get behind cricket during the week from December 7-14; grab a bat and ball and have a hit, or get boundary-side and watch it.
I especially encourage Tasmanians to support Australia when they take on the West Indies in the first test match of the series at Blundstone Arena.
This is a chance to watch world-class cricket in our own backyard at one of the greatest boutique cricket venues in the world, and we don’t want to lose it.
Cricket Week will also host the first match of the very first Women’s Big Bash League. The Hobart Hurricanes opening games will be played at Aurora Stadium on December 12 and 13.
This is not only an opportunity to see first class women’s cricket, but also inspire a new generation of female participants.
Tasmanians are huge cricket fans, it’s the third most contested sport in the state and almost one in two participants is female.
We also have a global reputation for producing some of the greatest competitors the sport has ever seen, including legends like David Boon and Ricky Ponting, and more recently George Bailey and James Faulkner.
It is pleasing to see the next generation of Tasmanian cricketers are shaping up, and three Tasmanian schools will be participating in the T20 Blast School Cup Final at the MCG on December 10.
I congratulate St Mary’s College, Sacred Heart Catholic School Geeveston and Corpus Christi Catholic School and wish their teams the best of luck.
Will Hodgman, Premier Minister for Sport and Recreation
