Date: Sunday December 8, 2024
Venue: Hagley Oval
Kindly supported by: Speight's, The ACC,
Report by: Ryan AstlE
Photos by: Danny Rood & Jared English (JME Logo)
Picture this… the sun is setting over Hagley Oval, Ben Hurley is batting, Todd Astle is bowling. He’s on a hat-trick. But not only that, it’s the final ball with the scores tied. With Movember needing one to win he charges in and…
Read on to see how things transpired 🤣.
After months of planning and preparations, game day was finally upon us. With forecasts earlier in the week for rain - which peaked nerve levels - thankfully the weather gods were shining down on us and BetterMan could battle Movember in perfect conditions.
Given that the Canterbury Cricket Trust were so generous in offering the ground to us for the day, we wanted to maximise the opportunity. We reached out to junior cricket clubs around Christchurch offering them the opportunity to play out on the hallowed turf of Hagley Oval. Was great to see them getting stuck in! Here's some shots from Parklands Cricket:
The banter on the BetterMan team WhatsApp chat had been flying for a few weeks with most of it focused on whether the new kit was a forgiving fit, who’d be first to pull a hammy, and Colin Slade generally abusing me for triggering him LBW the first and only time we’d previously met. There were also some great player profiles shared, my personal favourite being former Shortland Street star Will Hall’s who described his bowling as “Once an off-spin wizard back in school, now a purveyor of Right-Arm Mince and Cheese due to diminishing finger dexterity. No spin, just vibes.”
So, after all the chat, it was great to see the team and our Movember counterparts filing in and congregating around the pitch. It looked pretty good to be fair. And rightly so given we got to play on the recently finished Blackcaps v England test wicket!
After introductions, welcomes, and warm-ups the respective captains Kieran Read for Movember and Todd Astle for BetterMan strolled out to the pitch with umpires Thomas Nabbs and Dave Henderson. Movember winning the bat toss and electing to field first.
Supporters in the stands and on the banks were treated to some superb hitting from the start with Stephen Murdoch and Colin Slade both taking advantage of the field restrictions and showing their cricketing pedigrees.
Once they’d both retired on 30 the Movember side started to peg things back a bit with G-Lane spearheading the fightback. Check out the seam presentation below. Tim Southee eat your heart out.
With former professional athletes in the mix there was always going to be moments of brilliance in the field and Aaron Mauger’s direct hit run out and Marty Banks’ over the shoulder sprinting catch certainly got the crowd going. G-Lane also took a great catch, unfortunately for him he was about 8 metres over the boundary.
Some lusty blows from Todd, former Canterbury cricketers Carl Frauenstein and Tim Johnston and a few of the lower order batsmen kept the scoreboard ticking over.
Regular wickets also kept falling to keep Movember interested. None more so than G-Lane who ended up taking a 5fa including myself. I crushed one that I was sure was going for 6 only to see Jeremy Benton catch an absolute speccy on the rope.
It was great that all 12 of our squad managed to head out for a bat, and combined we managed to put 181 on the scoreboard.
Halftime was definitely one of the highlights of the night, which might sound weird, but bear with me. Ged ran point out on the field hitting high catches for the hordes of kids who were keen. Successful catches got some chocolate or candy. I’m not sure who had more fun, Gamesmaster Ged or the kids involved.
At the same time in the pavilion G Lane, off the back of his stellar bowling performance, was in charge of running the Q&A with Kieran Read, Head of Movember NZ Country Manager Robert Dunne (Roundy), and special guest New Zealand’s Minister of Mental Health Matt Doocey.
All spoke about the importance of using sport as a tool to get men together with Kieran saying “For men, a structured activity like cricket can be a great catalyst for a catch up. This brings the benefits of exercise but most importantly, the social connection and laughter that inevitably comes with the game. And plenty of stories to rehash over the ensuing years.”
Rob and Matt both emphasised how important it is for charities like Movember and BetterMan to help support our men and that our efforts are important in helping ease the strain on an already overburdened mental health system.
Events like these, give not only the players but the spectators a chance to connect and build and strengthen your community. Often referred to as health by stealth, being around others and having fun is hugely important for your mental health.
I also have to mention that G-Lane chucked in a couple of classic ACC-esque comments that Matt defused and ran with expertly 🤣. Was promising having a chat to Matt post Q&A so looking forward to seeing how we can help going forward.
But back to the cricket. I was given the responsibilities of bowling first over and given that the field was up and you couldn’t get out first ball I was a little suprised when Matt McIntyre (one of Movember’s best fundraisers) decided to “believe in the leave”.
After some tight bowling (myself not included) and regular wickets, Movember were a little behind the eight ball. But when former first class cricketer Jeremy Benton and Kieran Read cracked a 50 partnership things were back on.
Will Hall’s good vibes managed to get him a few wickets including that of Kieran Read who he ran over to and thanked for being a part of his greatest sporting achievement.
Roundy, who has first class cricket experience, looked a million dollars and almost hit his first ball for six over cover, so it wasn’t surprising that he retired with 30.
Ben Hurley played some good looking on-drives, and when Joey Wheeler benefitted from facing the majority of the “double runs” over to score 30 from 8 it was game on.
Todd tossed me the ball with two overs to go and Movember requiring 19 from 12. After Marty Banks crushed the first one for four and G Lane absolutely dispatched me for 6 over cow corner it wasn’t looking good for us. Thankfully our keeper Paul Knight came to the party with a sharp stumping off my final delivery.
So into the final over we went, Movember requiring 6 to win. Todd took the responsibility on his own shoulders as skipper to bowl it.
After a single first ball, Todd managed to strangle Jeremy Benton LBW with a wrong’un. Given retired batsmen were allowed to come back in, Roundy headed back out to the middle and after he dissected the field with a sweetly-timed sweep for four to tie the scores, things weren’t looking good for the BetterMan team.
But when Todd bowled another wrong’un that Roundy skied and Simon Carter held on to, much to his sheer joy and relief, it gave us a glimmer of hope.
Out walked Joey Wheeler, who’d previously pumped us all over including smashing Todd for a straight six back over his head. With the field crowding the bat to stop the single, Todd charged in and bowled another peach of a wrong’un that would have bamboozled the best of batsmen. It careered into the stumps.
So, it would all boil down to one final delivery. Ben Hurley, who’d already showered and was in his town clothes, strapped the pads back on and had to face Todd on a hattrick with one run required for the win.
With tension at an all time high, Todd came bounding in and, you guessed it, delivered another wrong’un. It cramped Ben for room...
...and he ended up shovelling it out towards cover.
Time stood still, Will Hall who had already shelled a couple of tough chances was staring directly into the setting sun. Somehow, with knees trembling and all eyes upon him he snaffled the catch to secure the most improbable, yet fitting ties of all time.
Post match, Connor Kitto who did an excellent job as ground announcer / hypeman interviewed both captains, whilst kids got autographs and players mingled.
Todd then wrapped up the official proceedings with a list of thank yous that I will echo here. Thank you to:
The Movember team: Kieran for captaining, Roundy for helping us pull together such a memorable event, and to all the players that put their hand up to play.
Equally thanks to the men who played for our BetterMan side. It was special to be back on the paddock with mates I hadn’t played with in far too long.
Matt Doocey for guest speaking at our Q&A
Mike Lane and the ACC
Speight’s and the team at Lion
Canterbury Cricket Trust and Hagley Oval groundsmen allowing us use of the world-class oval and facilities.
Canterbury Cricket Association and Ben Richards as Match Manager
Venues Otautahi
Blair Franklin and Kookaburra
Matt Hamilton and Paladin Sports
Evan Christieson and Orange Homes who sponsored our playing kit
Chateau on the Park, a DoubleTree by Hilton for putting up Nabbsy during his stay
Go Media for doing us a great deal on billboards
NZME for all of the radio coverage
Conner Kitto the ground announcer
Gooses Screen Design for our volunteers’ t-shirts
Russley Golf Course, High Peak Station, and Great Journey's NZ for donating auction prizes
Umpires Dave Henderson and Thomas Nabbs
Physio Mike Stevenson who wasn’t kept too busy barring Carl blowing a calf late in the day
Our amazing BetterMan volunteers who, alongside Ged, ran our raffle and collected donations
Official photographer Danny Rood
Videographer Robbie Fisher from Ghost Co.
Photographer Jared English
Last, but certainly not least, my sister-in-law Rachel Astle as event manager. We couldn’t have pulled it off without you and all the stellar work you did.
Finally, just a reminder that if you want to be kept up to date with our events then please subscribe for BetterMan updates.
Cheers,
Ryan, Todd and Ged.
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