June 9, 2017
This year’s Dinner With The Captains will have a new guest sports star following the surprise withdrawal of former NRL great Petero Civoniceva this week.
Petero advised South Burnett Relay For Life he had to reluctantly pull out of this year’s event because of circumstances beyond his control.
“Petero was very apologetic and wished everyone a great night,” Relay For Life patron Carl Rackemann said.
“But I’m delighted to announce that the funniest man in Australian sport, former Test cricketer Greg Ritchie, has stepped in to replace him.
“We are very sorry to not have Petero, but very appreciative that Greg has been able to come in at short notice.”
Ritchie, who was born in Stanthorpe in 1960, played in 30 Tests and 44 ODIs from 1982 to 1987, as well as playing for Queensland between 1980 and 1992.
He scored 10,170 runs in his first class cricket career at an average of 44.21, including 24 centuries and 54 fifties.
In the year 2000 he was named as one of the seven greatest Sheffield Shield run scorers in Queensland history for amassing more than 6000 runs for his state.
Ritchie is affectionately known as “Fat Cat” due to his burly build.
He was selected for Australia’s 1982-83 tour of Pakistan as a middle-order batsman replacement for Greg Chappell, and scored his first century – 106 not out – in his second Test at Faisalabad.
He was also picked for the 1984 tours of the West Indies and India, and made the Australian side over the 1984-85 summer.
Ritchie was a fixture in the middle order between 1985 and 1987 which included the 1985 Ashes tour to England where he scored his highest score (146) at Nottingham.
He was also part of the 1986 tours of New Zealand and India, and the 1986-87 England tour of Australia.
Ritchie was famously referred to by Allan Border at the 1986 Madras Tied Test against India.
Batsman Dean Jones was contemplating going off “retired ill” after vomiting at the crease and Border suggested that “a tough Queenslander” (Ritchie) could hack the conditions instead.
Jones stayed on and scored a double century.
This year’s Dinner With The Captains will be held at Kingaroy Town Hall on Saturday, July 22 at 5:30pm, where Greg Ritchie will be joined by Andrew Slack AM and Joyce Lester OAM.
Tickets to this semi-formal, three-course dinner are $90 per head or $900 for a table of 10.
They can be ordered from CROW-FM by phoning (07) 4169-0700.
