Our past & our present come together

            
There were blasts from the past and stars of the future when the Moonee Valley Cricket Club held its season opening function on November 27.
The function was a joint effort with the Moonee Valley Cricket Club Past & Present Players & Supporters group, and it was great to see some of the players who helped forge our destiny back at Ormond Park.
And talk about luck! He seems to do it every time, but Life Member Michael "Mickster" Cumbo AGAIN won the raffle.
Above: Back at the Valley - L-R Ian Denny, Gary Johnson, Greg Meyers and Danny Terzini.
It was great to see past players such as Greg Meyers, Gary Dudderidge, Gary Johnson, Warwick Nolan and Gary Irons back at Ormond Park, and players with a long and still ongoing history at Moonee Valley, such as Ed Nott, Ian Denny, John Talone and Kevin Gardiner.
We were also well represented by our current players, and thanks to Dom Rettino and the winning crew from the Fifths, who organised the catering for the night. Much appreciated to the Shiners!
Thanks also to Sandro Capocchi, Dean Lawson and John Talone for their excellent work in establishing the Past & Present Players group and the excellent Facebook page to keep everyone in touch. All past players and supporters who have not yet come on board with the Facebook page are urged to do so asap - there's plenty of fun and memories, including Sandro's call for "funniest moments" - which seemed to backfire on him!
***For more pictures from the night, click HERE .

First-up win with our women on the park

It took us three matches to get our team on the park, but the Moonee Valley women's team started their flag defence at Ormond Park with a resounding win.
After Week 1 was washed out and we were awarded a forfeit in Week 2, it was a long-awaited start to the defence.
And the effort we put up with the minimum six players required would have done our late women's team pioneer Tien Polonidis proud. 
At right: The first step on our Premiership flag defence. First-up win at home. L-R: Adele Walker, Kate Maxwell, Audrey Brown, Amy Hoang and co-coach Sarah Gooden. Front - Tara Newman and Kelsie Armstrong.
We hosted Werribee in the November 28 game, and pegged them right back after their top order bats started to look threatening.
The Valley girls were sensational in the field, restricting the runs and keeping Werribee to 73 from their 20 overs.
We started cautiously against their better bowlers, and openers Amy Hoang and Adele Walker put on 21 before we lost our first wicket off the last ball of the fifth over. Amy then retired, and next pair Kelsie Armstrong and Audrey Brown upped the pace. Our third pair, Tara Newman and Kate Maxwell then began scoring heavily, and when Amy and Kelsie returned to the crease the Werribee bowlers were done, conceding 68 runs from the last six overs.
Our score was 2/142.

OUR TRIBUTE TO TIEN POLONIDIS

Moonee Valley players and supporters have honored the memory of one of our women's cricket pioneers, Tien Polonidis.

After only one match got on in the wet weekend season commencement, players from our teams wore black armbands at the start of the season proper on November 20/21.

Tien, wife of MVCC Life Member Jim Polonidis, lost her long battle with illness overnight on October 27.

All players from our First Eleven wore the bright pink Tien/Moonee Valley caps for their game against Maribyrnong Park. The caps had been specially made a year ago as part of fundraising efforts for Tien's treatment.

Above Left: Our First Eleven honor Tien with their caps. L-R: Back - Muhammad Ashraf, Luke Brock, Jack Newman, Michael Ozbun, Jordon McDonald, Anthony Cafari. Front - Dejan Gilevski, Charles Bibby, Alec McIntyre, Sam Younghusband, Glen Courts.
Tien was a member of our inaugural women’s team in 2007/08 and played 46 games for the Valley, hitting 307 runs and taking 30 wickets.She’s the only player in our 50-year history to make a clean sweep of a season’s awards – winning the Women’s Firsts batting, bowling, fielding and Most Valuable Player in 2009/10.

Tien was our Women’s Firsts captain in 2008/09 and 2009/10.

At right: Tien Polonidis with husband Jim on one of her most recent club outings - the wedding of Matt and Vanessa Thomas in May.

Our season's functions and prices

We have set our key function dates for season 2021/22 - listed right - and have loaded in some attractive discounts for our players and members who package them up.
There are big discounts on season membership, our upcoming 50th anniversary and the reverse raffle past players day, as well as a bar/merchandise/canteen voucher for early bird payments. And paying your membership gets you an all-season discount at the bar. 
Details are listed here, and you can click  HERE  for more details on the functions.
But remember - these discounts are only available once membership is paid. So pay now, and IMMEDIATELY start getting your discounts every day from the bar.
To sign up - see a committee member or go to our shop - www.mooneevalleycricketstore.com.au

MOONEE VALLEY CRICKET –

SENIOR TRAINING

Moonee Valley’s senior training is on each Tuesday and Thursday, following COVID-safe requirements. The season is well under way.
We have QR code sign-in posters and hand sanitiser. Cricket Victoria is strongly encouraging all players or participants to get vaccinated. We are asking our players to show evidence of their vaccination status, as there are mandated requirements on using our facilities.
If you feel comfortable, please complete the information in this form (click here) , including uploading your vaccination certificate. Your information will be held securely with the club secretary, Michael Ozbun, until the time that it is needed.  For the previous update and other advice on the cricket season, click HERE .We’ve appointed our senior captains for 2021/22. They are: Firsts – Jack Newman; Seconds – Matt Esmore and Michael Ozbun; Thirds – Rahul “Sunny” Sharma; Fourths – Domenic Gibaldi; Fifths – Dominic Rettino and Paddy Shelton; Sixths – Allan Cumming; Sevenths – Bill Nimorakiotakis (provisional). We're rotating through the leaders of our women's team.
Their phone numbers are listed under “Club Office Bearers and Officials” under the “Club News” tab on the black bar at the top of the website.
Senior coach Glen Courts (right) was reappointed at the end of the 2020/21 season, while Bede Gannon has been reappointed Chairman of Selectors.
Anyone interested in playing for Moonee Valley this season - seniors, juniors or our premiership-winning women's team - can phone or text President Charlie Walker on 0411 705 381 or Senior Coach Glen Courts on 0403 329 652

Our 50th anniversary ball - book the date: January 29 


The Moonee Valley Cricket Club 50th anniversary ball, is the big event on our calendar, on January 29.

It is at the Ultima Function Centre in Keilor Park, and further details are in the attached flier.

The gala ball and announcement of the Team of the Half Century and the Teams of the Decade will be followed by a Back to Ormond Park and major raffle event on the following day.

****Watch for more details.

 

Buy club clothing, pay your membership, buy tickets to club functions - do it all at www.mooneevalleycricketstore.com.au

     Main Club contact details:

* Charlie Walker - President 0411 705 381; 9370 1802
* Peter Golding - Treasurer 0419 009 721
* Michael Ozbun - Secretary 0448 548 860
* Mark Gauci - Vice President 0457 778 335 
* Brendan Rhodes - Junior Co-ordinator - mooneev@club.cricketvictoria.com.au    

Email: mooneev@club.cricketvictoria.com.au 

For more contacts, see " Office bearers & Officials " under "Club News & Info" at the top of the page

Last updated : November 30, 2021.
For more of our history, including our Premierships, click HERE