May 16, 2022
Queensland Bulls Masters Darren Lehmann and Jimmy Peirson will be the cricket stars headlining the inaugural Bendigo Bank Cricket 4 Life day in Kingaroy next month.
The pair will be special guests at the day-long fun event, which will be a major fundraiser for the South Burnett Relay For Life campaign.
There will be multiple short matches between local juniors as well as a grudge match between Maidenwell and Ironpot.
The day will be topped off by a T20 match between Darren Lehmann’s “Burnett Bouncers” and Jimmy Peirson’s “Brisbane Blockers” that promises thrills and spills aplenty.
Lehmann is a former Australian middle-order batsman who played both Test and One Day Internationals for Australia between 1996 and 2005, then went on to coach Australia, the Queensland Bulls and the Brisbane Heat, as well as the Deccan Chargers and Kings XI Punjab.
Middle-order batsman and wicketkeeper Jimmy Peirson is the current Brisbane Heat captain and was Queensland’s youngest-ever Sheffield Shield winning captain when the Bulls won the competition in 2018. He was also part of the Bulls’ 2020-2021 Sheffield Shield winning side.
The Bendigo Bank Cricket 4 Life day will be held at Lyle Vidler Oval on Saturday, June 11, from 10:00am.
The event will also feature raffles and auctions, a barbecue run by the Kingaroy Junior Cricket Club, a licensed bar and live entertainment provided by Rob and Clare Fitz-Herbert.
Sponsorship opportunities are also available including a marquee site, a polo shirt listing all official sponsors, and a photo opportunity with the Bulls Masters.
There will also be an opportunity to be part of Darren Lehmann’s Burnett Bouncers (more details about this will be advised soon on the Cricket 4 Life Facebook page).
South Burnett Relay For Life patron Carl Rackemann said the Bendigo Bank Cricket 4 Life day was created after several community members said they wanted to bring a new event to the annual South Burnett Relay For Life fundraising drive for Cancer Council Queensland.
South Burnett councillors Gavin Jones and Scott Henschen joined with Carl and local residents Pawan and Sital Govind, Nik Ray and Simon Neal to form a committee to organise the event.
“I’m very excited that cricket is joining the fight against cancer,” Carl said.
“We’ve had wonderful support from Bulls Masters, and it’s going to be a fantastic day.”
Deputy Mayor Gavin Jones agreed.
“It is great to be launching Cricket 4 Life and to be welcoming such stellar cricketing talent as Darren Lehmann and Jimmy Peirson as captains for the main game of the inaugural event to raise funds for the Queensland Cancer Council,” he said.
“It’s also exciting to see the interest we’ve received from the South Burnett business community, especially Bendigo Bank who didn’t hesitate to become our principal sponsor.”
Cr Henschen said he was very proud to be assisting with the fundraising.
“I’m also really looking forward to seeing Ironpot overcome Maidenwell in our local grudge match,” he said.
Carl said the committee would also like to acknowledge the support of Myolene Voller, from the Kingaroy Cricket and Sporting Club; and Jamie Harmsworth, president of the Kingaroy Junior Cricket Club, both of whom are assisting with the day’s arrangements.
All funds raised by the Cricket 4 Life day will be donated to South Burnett Relay For Life which hopes to raise more than $100,000 for Cancer Council Queensland this year.
Thanks Anne and Dafyd for the great coverage of Cricket 4 life, and your continuing support for the South Burnett Relay For Life.